Five Friends in a Flat
by unicorn13564
Summary: Yaoi. Hao, Yoh, Horo, Ren and Lyserg share a flat together but what do they do all day? Work? Mess about? Torment each other? Turns out they do all this and more. After each hit they take they still remain flatmates. Some find friendship between the unlik
1. Hellhole

**Unicorn13564: Hi guys, long time no see, huh. Don't worry, I am alive. This is my newest fic. I think I'm going to do really well with it! It's probably going to have many chapters, since there are many things yet to come… things that are so secret that even I don't know about! O.O Anyway, apologies for no updations or new stories in centeries, but me been a busy bunneh. Believe it or not, all the time I've been away from fanfiction, I've been plotting my ass off with this mother fucker! o.o'' And other stories, but this one mainly. I HAVE 14 CHAPPYS PLOTTED! n.n Have 5 and a half actually typed up, but they wont come on till later. ANYWAY- read on.**

**Five Friends in a Flat**

**Hao, Yoh, Horo, Ren and Lyserg share a flat together; but what do they do all day? Work? Fuck about? Torment each other? Turns out they do all this and more. After each hit they take they still remain flatmates. Some find friendship between the unlikeliest pair, some even find love! Kinda crappy summery, but it's good… Yaoi.**

Chapter 1: Hellhole

Asakura Yoh and Usui Horokeu stood outside the door to their apartment. They'd come home from a long day's work of selling dairy products and other various items. Yoh was now seventeen, as was Horo. They'd both gotten a job as salesmen, which meant they had to travel round the town, lugging heavy boxes of crap to people's houses.

Yoh sighed. He could hear loud music blasting from somewhere inside, and something hitting the wall, along with pathetic cries. The Asakura took a deep breath, and entered.

--

Hao ducked behind the sofa that had been turned onto its back, being used as a shield. "Ha!" he yelled across to Lyserg, who had flung a pencil at his enemy. "Gonna have to do better than that!" he laughed, but covered his head with his arms as glass shattered above him. Hao looked up at the wet

mark on the wall, then down at the shattered vase. "Oh, I'm so scared! Aaaaahhh!" mocked Hao, screeching in a high girly voice.

Lyserg glared daggers at him. He was positioned so he had a clear view of the sofa Hao was cowering behind, and had plenty of pencils and other objects lined up to be flung at him. The green-haired boy was sat behind a chair, the back facing in Hao's direction. "You're going to regret the day you messed with Lyserg Diethel!"

"I already regret it!" Hao shouted over the music in reply, "You're such a boring asshole!"

Lyserg flinched as a spare video tape came crashing towards the wall, missing the chair by inches. Lyserg would have thrown a pencil in reply, yet stopped when the door swung open.

"You guys!" scolded Yoh, trying not to sound too pissed off.

The living room was totally wrecked. Pencils and other stationary were scattered across the floor, many objects were broken, such as lamps, clocks and vases; also, the furniture was either turned over and used as a barrier, or was pushed to the other end of the room to clear the path for flying objects.

Lyserg stared up at the clock on the wall. "Its 3:17pm, I thought you didn't finish work till 5…"

"We do." Said Horo. "And it's quarter past."

"Hao, you broke the clock!" hissed Lyserg.

"And you _didn't_ break the vase!" he questioned, pointing to the shattered pieces of broken glass that lay on the floor.

Yoh sighed again. "You know that you can live here as long as you-"

"-go by the house rules, we know." Said Hao, "If we'd known what time it was we would have tided up already."

Whilst Yoh was 'scolding' Hao and Lyserg for their immature behaviour, Horo knocked on the door of Tao Ren.

"Fuck off Hao!" yelled a voice viciously over the music that seemed to be coming from the room.

"Ren, it's me, Horo. Could you turn your music down a little? It's really-" Horo stopped talking when the music ceased to exist. "…Thanks…"

Horo's heart skipped a beat as the door before him swung open at great speed. "Tell that bastard to leave me the fuck alone!"

It took a few seconds for Horo to answer. He was to busy gawking at the Tao's extremely sexy body. Ren was half naked; he'd obviously been working out. His body was covered in a thin layer of sweat, causing his hair to stick to his face. "…Ta-Take it Hao's been-_ahem_-tormenting you again…"

Ren glared at Horo. "See something you like?" he asked, noticing Horo's eyes hadn't moved from his abs.

Horo instantly looked away. "…No…" he mumbled, trying to hide a blush that was sure to appear.

"My, my. Aren't we looking fit today." grinned Hao; making it obvious that he was checking Ren out.

"Fuck off." He hissed, and slammed the door in Horo's face.

"…Thanks for that one Hao…" said Horo sarcastically. "What did you do to piss him off this time anyway?"

"Nothing, I only told him he was a complete puff and could never defeat me if he tried."

"…So, in other words, you told him he sucked at fighting…?" sighed Horo.

"Something like that, yeah!" he laughed.

"Hao, shut up and go help Lyserg with the room." Ordered the Ainu; pointing in the direction of the living-room.

"Fine." Mumbled Hao, and slowly dragged himself to the very untidy room.

"So," said Yoh as he saw Hao re-enter the living room; "how'd it start this time?"

"It was _Hao's_ fault, he started it by teasing Ren so I stuck up for him and Hao started on me. After that, war broke out."

"_Lyserg!_" scolded Hao. "This is _Yoh_ here; he is your friend and my brother so I think it's only fair we tell him the truth."

"Oh, and what might that be?" asked Horo, also entering the room.

Hao took a deep breath. "It all started when I was a little boy-"

"Hao!" yelled an annoyed Yoh.

"Ok, ok. It was the aliens."

"…"

"Hard to believe I know, but they came down to Earth and possessed Little Lyserg, and so, I, Asakura Hao, had to do what I had to do. I attacked him with pencils! I was winning too until Ren decided to team up with Lyserg, and so I fought bravely and-"

"Well at least we know his imagination is working…" Lyserg sighed. "Ow! Hao you jackass!"

The eldest of the Asakura's sniggered as they watched Lyserg rub his head were the pencil had struck him.

"Horo, is Ren ok?" asked Yoh, his voice showing concern.

"I guess so… he's a little pissed off though. Apparently Hao told him he couldn't fight and-" Horo watched as Yoh began to walk past him. "-and he happens to be gay with a boyfriend."

"What?" asked Yoh, his expression shocked as he stopped in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at the Ainu

"Great, now that I have your attention, care to hear the rest of the story instead of totally ignoring me?"

"Oh, sorry." apologized Yoh. "I just really need to talk to him about something."

"Oh?" asked Lyserg, "Like what?"

"I think Ren should try and get a job." Yoh said. "He hates being stuck inside here all the time with- no offence- _Hao;_ so I think it'll do him some good to get a job."

Horo nodded in agreement.

"B-But who will I tease! Let's face it; _Lyserg's_ not that much fun! The only time _he's_ any fun is when it's a War! _Ren _on the other hand gets pissed about _everything!_"

"So what Hao, Ren spends day and night locked in his room training- and for what? The tournament is already over." Said Horo, raising his voice slightly.

"Well if you're so damn concerned, I'll get a job."

Everyone froze.

"R-Ren, I- uh… how long were you there for…?"

"Long enough. And the only reason I work out so much is because I worked long and hard to gain this image and I'm not going to stop training and become a fat twat like you most likely will." He hissed, glaring at everyone in the room.

"I'm sorry if we upset you Ren, but there's no need to call Horo fat." Lyserg muttered.

"Did I _say_ he was fat? I said he would most likely _become _fat."

"Ren, you're a fat cunt with no personality." Said Hao plainly.

"…Well that was unexpected…" said Horo, and laughed tensely as he saw Ren's eye twitch.

"Hao, don't wined Ren up. You know he'll only try and kill you." lectured Yoh.

"Either that or commit suicide…" he laughed in reply.

Ren balled up his hands into fists and headed for the door. "Come Yoh," he ordered, opening the door. "We need to talk."

--

Ren walked down the streets hastily, not stopping until he reached the local park that was in their area. It was seven o'clock now, and it was getting rather cold. The park was deserted apart from himself and Yoh.

"H-Hey," said a panting Yoh, coming up beside Ren and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Why the rush? …And why the _park?_" he asked, observing his surroundings.

The park had many benches that lay at the side of pathways, and opposite the benches were large patches of freshly cut grass. There were trees scattered around the area, and in the middle stood a statue of a man which dated back all the way to 1880.

Yoh removed the coat he'd brought and placed it over the Tao's shoulders after seeing him shiver slightly.

"Ren, why did you bring me out here?" questioned Yoh.

Ren turned to face him. "I don't know… I guess I needed someone to talk too." He said, and turned his back to Yoh again.

The Tao breathed through his mouth, creating a small white puff of air visible, and watched it dissolve into nothing. He wasn't sure why he'd chosen Yoh to come out here with him. Perhaps he would have been better off coming alone… "Yoh, what are you doing?" he questioned, feeling the Asakura's arms wrap around his body.

"You look cold even with my coat, that's all. Sorry, I'll let go if you want."

"…No… its ok…"

"You said you needed to talk to me. What about?"

"Nothing. Like I said, I just needed someone to talk to, so I made up a dumb excuse to get you to follow."

"Ok, then what do you need to talk to someone about?"

Ren felt the Asakura's breath on his neck. "…Are you not cold? I mean, I do have your coat and all."

"I'll survive, but stop changing the subject."

"I… I don't want to live in the flat anymore… I want to move out." Ren knew Yoh was shocked and was wondering what made the Tao even think of the idea. "I can't take it anymore… it's so hard for me to…"

"Go on…" Urged Yoh, desperate for Ren to finish.

"…It's so hard for me to cope with it all…"

"Ren, I don't want you to go away… and if it's Hao that's bothering you, I'll sort it, I'll tell him to leave you alone, I'll-"

"It's not Hao that's the problem, it's me."

Ren felt Yoh's embrace tighten. "But you can't leave the flat, I won't allow it." Yoh's embrace got even tighter. "I'll barricade the house, you won't escape!"

"Yoh, you're hurting me." Said Ren calmly, and started to feel Yoh loosen up a bit.

"S-Sorry…" he apologised shakily.

"What brought that on?" he inquired. "You're acting like… like you're in…"

"Love?" asked Yoh. "No, don't be stupid Ren, that's just sick. Your one of my closest friends, I'd hate to see you leave, is all… seriously, I don't love you."

Ren wanted to believe him, he did. But something deep inside told him otherwise.

"Ok then…" said Ren. "I won't go… I'll stay… but can you have that chat with Hao anyway…?"

Ren felt Yoh nod his head. "Ok."

"…I'm getting quite hot, do you want your coat back?"

"Ok." He said, and released the Tao from his arms, putting on his coat Ren had returned to him. "…So… have you said all you want to say…?"

"Have you?"

Yoh was lost for words. He wasn't really expecting a comeback for that.

"There wasn't anything to say."

"Yoh, if something is troubling you, I want to know."

"Same here."

"Well nothing is troubling me."

"Me neither."

Ren felt his anger rising. "Look, were gonna be this way all damn night if one of us doesn't say what's on their mind-"

"I love someone." Said Yoh quickly, but as soon as those words escaped his mouth, he regretted it. "Gee its getting cold, let's go home." Yoh was about to toddle off home when Ren held him back.

"Who?"

"Why? Interested?" he asked with a grin, looking back at the Tao. Ren just stared at him, awaiting his answer. "She's called Kelly. She works at a flower shop near by. Horo knows her. He talks to her sometimes."

'_What are you hiding…?'_ thought Ren as he continued to stare at the Asakura, yet thought it best not to accuse him. "So, this Kelly, does she like you back? Have you told her you like her?"

"No… I don't have the bottle…" admitted Yoh. "Were sort of friends, but I doubt she knows of my existence."

"Question, what were you doing in a flower shop in the first place?"

"Huh? Oh, Horo wanted to take a look when we passed it one time. He said it reminded him of his homeland. You know, the beauty of the flowers, the sent and stuff, he draws attention to himself when he stands there sniffing them; kind of embarrassing actually."

Ren couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Horo stood sniffing flowers. "Baka…" he muttered quietly.

"Ren, can we go back now?" Yoh requested.

"Fine. Turns out you were the one who wanted to talk anyway."

As they walked down the streets, lampposts lighting the way, Ren noticed that it was half nine. He glanced to his left were Yoh was walking. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets and was walking with his head down, his bangs covering his face. "Yoh, stop it."

"…Stop what?" asked Yoh, refusing to look up at Ren.

"Stop _moping_. You look pathetic. If you're in love with this _Kelly_ person, I say tell her how you feel. For God sake Yoh, don't be pathetic all your life."

"But it's not that easy Ren, I can't just go up to her and say 'I love you'. The world just doesn't work like that… and neither do people."

Ren sighed. "Ok, so suppose you leave it. Suppose you never tell her. Then what? Are you just going to move on without even trying?"

"Why not? It's simple enough."

"…Ok… Ok Yoh, you do what you want. I'm not going to beg you to do otherwise."

The rest of the walk home went on in an awkward silence. Ren had no idea why he was so pissed off at Yoh. It wasn't like Yoh was doing anything bad. It's just that Ren couldn't shake the feeling that Yoh was giving him a bottle half full.

--

Yoh hung his coat up and Ren went straight to his room, determine to finish a circuit of training before midnight.

Yoh listened to the grunts and groans coming from the Tao's room. There was a rule Yoh had made, and that rule was that Ren wasn't allowed to play his music after nine.

"Hey, Yoh, do we have any cheese?" questioned Horo.

The Ainu was wearing nothing but his blue boxers, showing the top half of his body.

"Going to bed already…?" asked Yoh.

"Yeah, I know it's only ten but you know what I'm like. I can't get up in the morning. Anyway, I was getting hungry so I decided to make a cheese sandwich but I need to know if we have any cheese. And Hao and Lyserg are still up if you want those two for company."

"…Yeah, we do have cheese, not a lot though. I'll drag Hao and Lyserg shopping tomorrow." Yoh said, yawning slightly.

"That'll be fun…" said Horo sarcastically, and walked over to the refrigerator, reaching inside and grabbing a small block of cheese.

"Horo, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what?"

"…It's about Kelly."

--

The next morning Yoh and Horo set off to work, leaving Hao, Lyserg and Ren alone in the house.

"Ok, what War should I start today?" asked Hao loudly so that both Lyserg and Ren could hear. Lyserg and Ren were sat at the breakfast table, Lyserg eating a bowl of cereal, Ren reading the morning telegraph.

The green-haired boy glared up at Hao and covered his cereal with his arms protectively whilst continuing to eat, and Ren just ignored him.

Hao moaned at the Tao's ignorance and walked over to him, standing behind him. Hao simply grabbed both of Ren's hands and pushed them together, making the paper go all crumpled up.

"Take it Yoh didn't have that talk with you…" said Ren, and opened up the paper again.

"Yoh? Talk?"

"Yes. He was going to tell you that you have to stop winding me up so badly."

"Or else?"

"Or else you'll get kicked out."

"And Yoh actually said those words?"

"No, not all of them. But if you continue to piss me off, I'll be the one kicking you out."

"…Whatever…" said Hao with boredom. "Hey Lyserg; think fast."

The young douser had accidentally let his guard down whilst listening to Ren's threats, and could only watch as a small green pee broke the surface of his milk.

"…Bastard…" he cursed, and pushed the cereal away from himself.

Ren slammed his hands on the table and got up. "I'm going out." He announced, and before anyone could object, walked out.

--

"Hi, we are salesmen from 'We Supply, You Buy', and were wondering whether you'd like to buy any of the products we carry at a more then reasonable price." Said Horo politely.

"…Eh…?" asked the old man. He was hunched over slightly with a walking stick, and was bald with a white beard. He wore black thick rimmed glasses and a thick woolly jumper with black trousers and brown shoes. "Whacha say kiddo?"

Horo sighed. "Take it away Yoh."

"Would you like to buy the crap we sell?" he asked loudly.

Horo stared at Yoh in disbelief. "Yoh, what the hell are you doing?"

"Depends on what crap ya selling, sunny." Said the man, and opened the door, allowing the two to enter.

Horo raised an eyebrow to Yoh and followed him inside.

--

The Asakura smiled at the Ainu, happy with the days work. They'd soled over six boxes of crap to people, which in Yoh's opinion was quite good.

"Wonder how the three stooges are doing…" joked Horo.

"Beating the crap out of each other no doubt." Yoh said, and groaned at the thought.

As they reached the corner of their block, Yoh and Horo's hearts raced as an ambulance went past, the sirens causing them to fill with worry.

"Oh fuck!" yelled Yoh, and began to run towards the flat with Horo running quickly behind.

Horo slowed down, as did Yoh, and laughed. "False alarm."

Yoh nodded as the ambulance passed their flat.

Yoh and Horo entered the flat and walked to their floor. They walked along the corridor until they reached a door with a sign reading 'Asakura And Co.' 'Lyserg smells' 'I do not' 'Yes you do' 'Ren is gay' 'Piss off Hao' 'Lilly pads rule' and 'Guys, knock it off!'.

As Yoh opened the door, confusion filled his mind. No mess… nothing. Not even a discarded pencil or paper. "…Hello…?" asked Horo curiously, and stopped as he noticed Lyserg and Hao on the sofa. Lyserg was leaning on Hao's chest, both asleep and the TV still on.

"Oh fuck!" whispered Horo in frustration and silently ran into his room.

"Horo…? What are you doing? …Horo…?" whispered Yoh, and as Horo emerged, understood what he wanted to get.

A little light flashed as Horo took pictures from every angle, grinning as he did so.

Yoh couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two. It was actually kind of cute. "It's nice of you to cherish the moment and show them when they wake up…" smiled Yoh.

"Who's cherishing? I need some dirt on Hao for future reference."

Yoh hung his head at Horo's little plot. "Trust you…"

"Yeah, trust me." The Ainu grinned.

"I'll go see what Ren's up too." Said Yoh, and knocked on the Tao's door. "Ren? Ren it's Yoh…"

Silence.

"Ren…?"

Yoh daringly entered the room of the Tao. Maybe he was asleep. Maybe he was meditating. Maybe he… wasn't there…

The Asakura looked around at the empty room and closed the door again.

"Horo…" said Yoh, walking back into the living-room. "…Horo, Ren's not in his room… the ambulance from earlier… maybe… maybe it was for Ren!"

Hao's eyes slowly opened and he instantly felt something lying against his chest. "_Augh!_ Lyserg cooties!" he yelled, and shoved the still sleeping Lyserg off the sofa.

"Ack! Hao! I was comfy!"

"I bet you were!" laughed Horo, and held up the camera. "And Yoh, don't panic. He'll be fine. He always is."

Just then, the front door swung open. Everyone stared at the young Tao. His eyes were dull. His hair was a mess. But worst of all, his clothes were blood-stained. He just stood there whilst his friends gawked at him leaning against the door-frame.

"R-Ren!" yelled Yoh, and rushed to the Tao's side.

"Dude," said Horo, also coming to his friends' aid. "You're supposed to _stay_ with the ambulance, not run _away_ from it!"

The two pulled the limping Ren into the living-room and sat him on the sofa next to Hao.

Yoh stared at the Tao, wide-eyed, and asked in a nice, calm voice. "Ren, what happened?"

**Unicorn13564: Ok, that was my first chapter. How'd I do? I guess I got this idea from 'Friends', although I have no idea why coz I haven't seen it in ages. Anyway, what do ya think? Ren's a state, bless him. Review! Oh, and this story is rated for later chapters… _way_ later chapters… sorry about that! v.v**


	2. Coping With The Truth

**Unicorn13564: Hazzar! I am nice! The second chapter has arisen! XD Lol. Don't forget to review!**

Chapter 2: Coping With The Truth

Both Hao and Lyserg were wide awake now, staring aimlessly at the Tao.

"It… it was awful…" spoke Ren, his voice barely a whisper.

"What was? What happened to you Ren?" questioned Yoh, desperate for an answer.

"I… I saw it coming… the car… I saw it coming… but I couldn't move…"

"Y-You were hit by a car?" asked Hao.

"No, a young girl was."

At this point everyone was confused.

"…A… A young girl around eight was playing with a ball… and it rolled out into the road..." Ren explained, coming over his state of shock. "A car came crashing towards her, tires screeching, as was she… Then her body… it went up in the air… everything was a deadly silence… then people began to… to scream…"

"But why are you covered in blood and limping?" asked Lyserg.

"I was called over by one of the paramedics to hold the girls head still. She was dead, but they tried to save her anyway."

"But why would you need to hold her head still if she was dead?" Hao asked curiously.

"Because it kept flopping to the side, dolt." He hissed.

**A/N: My sister is pissing herself laughing at my last line and it's not even supposed to be funny… OO (hits sister) IT'S TRAGIC DAMN IT!**

"And you were limping because…?" he asked, ignoring Ren's insult.

"…I banged my knee-cap as I was running up the stairs…" muttered Ren, and glared up at Hao. "Go on, laugh. I dare you."

Silence.

"…I'm not going to laugh… simply because I think it's not the time to do so… mind you I'll torment you about it later, but that's later. Are you feeling better now?"

"Still a little shocked at the sight but I'll live."

"Good. Where'd you go anyway?"

"I did as Yoh advised, went to look for a job…"

"Any luck?" asked Horo.

"No."

Yoh patted Ren on the back. "Don't worry; it usually takes a few days to get a job anyway…"

Horo's eyes saddened. "I… I'm sorry… about the girl…"

The Tao nodded in agreement. "Me too…" he whispered. "…Me too…"

Lyserg cringed. It was not the time to be complaining, but…"Um… Ren, I don't mean to be rude…" said Lyserg softly, "…but you reek of blood."

Ren sniffed the air, smelling the strong sent of blood. "You're right. I'll go take a shower."

"If you leave your clothes in a plastic bag outside the bathroom, I'll wash them. I would say put them in the wash basket but the blood may get onto the other clothes." Lyserg said kindly.

"No, don't wash them. Burn them. I won't wear these clothes ever again."

Hao's eyes lit up. "B-Burn!" he questioned, as if it was too good to be true. "You want your clothes _burning!_"

"Second thought, just throw them away. Can't risk the chance of a fire."

"Oh but _Re-en!_" whined Hao, tugging on his arm. "_Please!_ There's a bin thingy in the park were people can burn stuff! It's _legal!_"

Ren's eyes locked with Yoh's; asking him whether he was telling the truth. "Oh; yeah. It's legal."

Ren sighed. "Very well then. But _only_ the clothes I leave outside the bathroom!"

Hao hugged Ren's arm. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you!_"

"Alright already!" yelled Ren, and pulled his arm free from Hao's hug, making his way to the bathroom.

--

Hao ran down the isles of the rather large store with Lyserg chasing after him. "Catch me if you can!" taunted the Asakura.

"Get back here Hao, you dim-witted jerk!" he cursed. Yoh sighed as people began to stare at the two running around the store. It appeared that Lyserg had taken his wallet along with him, only for it to be stolen by Hao.

"Hao! Give him back his friggin wallet or bonfire night will be cancelled!" shouted Ren angrily, and watched as Hao stopped, returning the wallet to its rightful owner. "…Friggin idiot…" he mumbled. "…Not in the mood for this childish crap…"

"Ren, you're so mean!" pouted Hao, and came over to him.

Yoh had ordered them all to come and help him shop. Yoh was pushing the trolley around, whilst the guys would put in their favourite cereal and other food in that they were low on or in need off.

**A/N: If ya want an image of the store, it's basically an Asda's-wonna-be. XP**

Hao jumped onto the trolley, standing on the bar at the bottom as Yoh pushed it.

"Hao, get off." Yoh sighed whilst stopping to pick up a few microwavable meals.

Hao groaned and hopped off. "Yoh, can I push the trolley?"

"No!" yelled both Horo and Lyserg in union.

"Why not?" queried Hao.

"Because the last time you pushed the trolley you stuck Lyserg in it and pushed him all over the city!" said Yoh, getting angry by the mere memory of it all.

"Well if he wanted to get out so badly he could have…" he shrugged.

"I couldn't! My legs were hanging out so I'd have needed someone else to pull me out!"

"…Oh! Yoh! Look!" yelled Hao, totally going off the subject. He pointed to a new type of shampoo, 'guaranteed to make your hair shine'. "I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it!" cried the Asakura, grabbing three bottles into a tight hug. Yoh sighed at his brother. Was being normal to much to ask of him?

After a few more minutes shopping, Yoh and the guys unpacked all the stuff out of the trolley and onto the counter; watching it get carried along by the conveyor belt towards the shop till. The guys moved to the end and began to put the shopping into bags.

"That'll be £87.68."

Yoh sighed at the amount of stuff they'd purchased, and handed her his credit card. "Don't forget this stuff has to last us for just over a month." Yoh warned. "And your rent needs to be on time _Hao._"

"Yes, yes." He replied lazily, and lifted up two bags. "Run away!" he yelled playfully, and pretended to run off with the two bags of shopping.

"Baka…" muttered Lyserg, yet smiled.

--

The youngest of the Asakura's looked across the room, his mind fixated on the Tao.

Ren was sat on the sofa, scanning the paper for decent jobs. _'It was only this morning you'd been involved in an accident…'_ thought Yoh. _'Why are you so eager to find a job? It's not like you're in a hurry or anything. You can stay unemployed for as long as you want… I don't mind… You worried me today Ren… you made me think I was going to loose you. You're one of my closest friends, and I thought you were going to die…'_

"Yoh, this is pathetic." hissed Ren, narrowing his eyes at the paper. "There are no jobs that suit me, and we're in a city full of jobs."

Yoh came over and sat next to Ren. He watched as the Tao continued scanning the paper. Just then, Horo came in and sat next to Ren, making Ren be the one in the middle. "What ya doin?" asked Horo curiously. When Ren didn't answer, Horo looked at Yoh. "Yoh, what's he doing?"

"I'm scanning the paper for a job now go away. I already have Yoh to help me."

Horo groaned at Ren's rudeness and got up off the sofa, getting himself a glass of orange juice.

"Hey, there's one…" suggested Yoh, and pointed to a help wanted add for someone who would wash cars.

"Yoh, I'm not going to stand around washing a car all friggin day. I need a job that will suit me and that I will like."

"…That can be pretty hard sometimes… sometimes you need something to start you off, ya know?"

Ren sighed. "Fine. I'll check it out, but I'm not promising anything."

Yoh smiled, happy that Ren would even consider applying for a job that meant he'd be washing cars. After all, a job was a job, right?

The Asakura wrapped his arms round the Tao and pulled him into a tight hug. He was so happy with Ren that he didn't notice the blush appearing on the Tao's face, and the ever watchful eyes that stared at the two in wonder.

The Ainu smiled at the two, yet deep inside, his heart poured with blood. _'Why do you get to feel his skin on your own? Why do you get to be so close to him, when I'm so far away? Oh how I'd love to be you right about now…'_

--

"Hao! Hurry up!" hissed Lyserg, glaring at the Asakura.

Hao had wanted to burn Ren's clothes so badly, that he'd gotten the others concerned so much that they'd sent Lyserg out with him.

The long-haired shaman held up Ren's top and set it on fire with a lighter, watching as the flames neared his hand.

"Hao! Stop!" yelled Lyserg in panic, and dived onto Hao, stamping on the top and putting out the flames. "You're supposed to put it in the bin!" he hissed as Hao rose to his feet. "Grrr, you are so stupid at times!" With that, Lyserg stormed over to a bench and sat on it, watching Hao from a distance.

Hao's eyes stared down at the blank slip of paper. When Lyserg knocked him over, Hao had seen it fall out of a secret pocket in Ren's clothes. He picked it up and stared at it, then turned it over to discover it wasn't a piece of paper, but a photo. Both confusion and curiosity swept over the Asakura like a tidal wave. There before him, was a picture of none other then Horokeu, his name was written with a black marker at the bottom, and a small love heart lay next to his name.

--

"Horo, could you come here please." Requested Ren, and waited patiently as Horo finished his drink and sat next to him.

"Yoh, Horo…" he said, grabbing both their attention. "I need to talk to you both."

"Sure dude, what's up?"

"Earlier this morning I took a walk… I didn't go to find a job like I first said, truth is; I paid a visit to the flower shop."

Yoh's heart raced. "Y-You what?"

"Kelly says hi… or at least she would do if she existed."

Yoh's heart began to crumble as Ren's golden eyes met with his. He'd discovered the truth. He'd found out the horrid lie Yoh had told him.

"So, did you two have fun _lying_ to me? It's bad enough for you to lie straight to my _face_ Yoh, but to get _Horo_ to do the same… shame on you."

The Ainu gritted his teeth and balled up his hands into tight firsts, letting his nails dig deeply into his skin. It was the only way to stop himself from getting up and jumping out of a window. _'Turns out we've hurt him pretty badly Yoh… we hurt him… he thinks we betrayed him! Were not his friends, were evil people! Friends wouldn't lie to one another! He's hurt Yoh, he's really hurt and I helped!'_

"Ren, I can explain-"

"_No_ Yoh, I thought I could trust you."

"We're sorry Ren, we really are! …But why not let Yoh explain? Can't you at least hear him out?" asked Horo, desperate for Ren's forgiveness.

"Couldn't you at least have said 'no' about lying to me?" hissed Ren. "I'm not going to let this go. You didn't _have _to tell me who you loved Yoh, you didn't _have_ to come up with a story just to satisfy me. It's _your_ life, not mine. If you continue to lie to me Yoh, I'll leave. I mean it; I'm not going to live with people I can't even trust."

Ren got up off the sofa, ready to leave, when Yoh clutched his arm. "Ren, don't go." He said quickly. The Tao was confused slightly; he couldn't help noticing how desperate he sounded. "I…I…" Yoh was panicking. _'Come on Yoh, it's now or never!'_ "I love you!"

**Unicorn13564: Dun dun duuuun! The second chapter is completed! Buwhahahahahaaaaa! Kelly is a fake! She no exist! OO Bless Yoh. Review! …This is days after I've done this chapter (I write a few before posting the first), and I've told my friends about the floppy-head thing at school to see if they found is as hilarious as my sister… and Jamie was crying with laughter, whilst Jenna had a stitch… and all three went to English, and were laughing hysterically for _ages_… oO; Question: What the hells going on with my Roommates fic? I only have 5 reviews and 118 hits! What's the matter? Don't you guys love me no more? T.T That kind of torture is uncaused for! (cries) Lol. In other words, would the people who have seen the anime Fruits Basket, check out my fic? Or the people who have read it could you please review? Pretty please…? Thanks. Appreciate it. n.n Oh, here's an example of me, Jenna, Jamie and Lucy, and what it was sort of like... o.O''**

**Kim: …You're all demented… -.-**

**Jamie: (sniggers) …floppy-head… (bursts out laughing)**

**Jenna: (does impression of a floppy-head then laughs along with Jamie)**

**Lucy: (starts to cry with laughter)**

**All: (chokes because their all laughing so hard)**

**Kim: See! DEMENTED! . **


	3. Deal With It

**Unicorn13564: Ok, this is the third chapter, right after Yoh tells Ren he loves him… yet after Hao finds a picture in Ren's clothes with Horo on it, and a love heart! O.O**

Chapter 3: Deal With It

Hao winced as he felt a sharp pain in his chest and stopped walking, putting his hand over his heart. It felt as if it were bleeding! It really, _really_ hurt!

"Lyserg you bastard! That one hurt!" Hao glared over at Lyserg who had a bunch of small berries in his hand, and a wide grin plastered across his face. "Don't throw them so fucking hard, moron!"

Lyserg just laughed and dropped the rest of the berries on the ground, coming over to walk by Hao's side. "…Hao, what's bothering you?"

"A certain green-haired shaman, why?"

"No, I mean what's on your mind? You've been acting a little… odd." Lyserg waited for a response, but never got one. "Hao, tell me."

"It's nothing… seriously… least not in my opinion anyway. It's up to him who he… never mind."

"Continue…"

"No, I shouldn't say. Not until I speak with him first."

"Who?" Lyserg asked, interested in the subject.

"No one."

"Horo? Yoh? Ren? …Me…?"

"No, no, no and no."

"Then who?"

"No one."

Hao heard Lyserg groan in annoyance, yet still his lips were firmly sealed. He had to hear it from Ren whether he was in love with Horo or not. Maybe he was wrong, maybe the love heart meant something else… but what else could a love heart mean…?

'_I don't like this…'_ thought Lyserg. _'He's blocking me out… I hate it when he does this to me. It's so damn cruel! I'm interested in what he has to say. I want to know what he thinks, what his point of views are… I want to know what and who the hell he's on about…' _Lyserg sighed loudly, and carried on walking.

It didn't take the two long to get home, since Hao had taken many short-cuts, but when they did, they found Yoh sat on the sofa, clutching Ren's arm as he was ready to leave, and the Ainu sat next to them, a shocked yet hurt expression on his face.

"Wow, how long have you guys been like that…?" asked Hao curiously.

"…A…About five minutes…" answered Yoh, and turned got up off the sofa, still holding Ren by the arm, and came face-to-face with him. "Ren… please… answer me…"

Yoh saw that Ren was completely shocked, yet knew that he was considering something. His eyes were wide with surprise, yet his eyebrows kept furrowing as he sorted things out in his head. "Yoh…" he started, and locked eyes with him. "…Why did you say that?"

'_What the hell's going on here…?'_ though Hao.

"Because I do. I love you, Ren."

'_W-What?' _Hao's eyes widened. _'What the fuck happened? Were did that come from? How long has this been going on for!'_

"I've loved you for a very long time… I only made up Kelly because I needed an excuse to talk to you on the subject of love. I'm _sorry _I lied to you, I really am; and please, don't be mad at Horo. He was only helping me out. He didn't even know the reason for me making Kelly up. I know this is really sudden for you, and must be quite a shock… but… would you… consider… going out with me…?"

Ren's eyes glanced over to Horo. The Ainu was staring at him as if he'd just been deceived or something. Ren turned back round to Yoh, and was slightly taken back to find that his expression was the same as Horo's. "Ren?" he asked; his voice cracking slightly as he tried his very hardest to keep himself together.

"…Yes…" answered Ren. "…I'll… I'll go out with you…"

Yoh's eyes lit up as he heard those words. The sadness he'd felt was quickly replaced by excitement, and he crashed his lips to Ren's.

Ren's heart raced due to the sudden contact as he lent back, trying to get out of it, yet wondered… is this what Horo would taste like…? Ren pushed back hard, deepening the kiss as he grabbed a handful of Yoh's hair, slipping his tongue into the others' mouth. He happily explored the inside of Yoh's mouth as small moans escaped.

'_I…I don't have to watch this…'_ thought Horo bitterly, feeling his eyes fill with tears. _'I don't have to sit here and take this abuse!'_

Horo stood up, his bangs hiding the glare he gave both Yoh and Ren. The Ainu walked towards the door. "I'm going out." He said, yet was stunned to find Hao had said the same thing at the exact same time, and he too was reaching for the door handle.

"…I need to go get some milk, where are you going?" asked the Asakura, and blinked innocently, his expression casual.

"Away from here!" answered the Ainu viciously, and swung the door open, storming off down the corridors with Hao tagging along behind him.

--

'_Great! Just great! Yoh and Ren are dating! So that means their going to be all over each other! Kissing, laughing, touching each other up, and eventually having fucking sex!' _thought Horo angrily as he stomped down the street. He couldn't seem to shake the feeling that Ren agreed to go out with Yoh deliberately. "But _why!_"

"Huh? Why what?" asked Hao who was walking beside him carrying a bottle of milk, who was only just managing to keep up with Horo's hasty pace.

Horo sighed. "Nothing…"

"Hold on a sec Horo, I need to go into this shop." Said Hao, pointing to a television shop.

"…Why…?"

"Because I need to find out how much a new TV is gonna cost us."

Horo glared at the Asakura. "_Why?_"

"…Because I accidentally broke the one in Lyserg's room…"

Horo cursed the boy then followed him into the shop, stood in a corner, and awaited his return.

As he stood there, he felt like crying as he listened to the lyrics of a song that was being played.

_Wouldn't it be nice if we were older  
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long  
And wouldn't it be nice to live together  
In the kind of world where we belong  
_

Horo sighed as he began to think of Yoh and Ren. What if Horo had been the one to tell Ren he loved him? Would things have turned out differently?

_  
You know its gonna make it that much better  
When we can say goodnight and stay together_

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up  
In the morning when the day is new  
And after having spent the day together  
Hold each other close the whole night through

"Oh this is fucking _torture!_" Horo shouted, and after attracting many people's attention, left the shop and continued his wait outside.

--

Horo's eye twitched as he heard Hao snigger again. Then again. Then again. Then- "Hao, stop sniggering damn it!" he yelled frantically, turning to glare at him.

"I'm sorry Horo; it's just that you really showed yourself up back there…"

Silence again.

"It's not all that bad you know…" said Hao randomly as they yet again continued walking.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He hissed, glaring down at the pavement as he walked; his hands deep in his pockets.

"Horo, come on. You love him. You've loved him for what, three years now?"

Hao couldn't help but smirk as the Ainu stopped. "What? Me? Love who?"

"Yoh, duh."

Inside, Horo sighed in relief.

"Did I say Yoh? I meant Ren."

"What?" he asked, staring at the Asakura in disbelief.

"I was merely trying to make you feel better by making you think I thought you loved Yoh, but moving on, you love Ren. I know you do."

"One question: _How!_"

"I discovered the beauty of getting people pissed. Mine and Yoh's birthday party three years ago…?" asked Hao, wondering if it rang any bells.

"No wonder I couldn't remember what had happened! I didn't get mugged did I!"

"No, in reality you were pissed out your head and spilled your guts to me about Ren in the toilets… whilst spilling your _actual_ guts _to_ the toilets… back to my point, you love Ren, yet kept your gob shut all this time. Why?"

"…What the hell'd you get me pissed with!" he asked, as if he'd never heard the last question.

"Vodka, but that's not the point Horo, pay attention!" yelled Hao, and flicked him on the nose.

"Ok, that was completely pointless but whatever…" muttered the Ainu. "And the reason I kept my gob shut is because he doesn't like me in that sort of way so why bother asking?"

"Well he agreed to go out with _Yoh_ didn't he?"

"Yeah, well that's _Yoh._ Yoh means more to Ren than I do!"

"But you can never be 100 percent certain unless you ask!" lectured Hao matter-of-factly.

"You know, you shouldn't give people advice when you don't take it yourself…" hissed Horo harshly in reply.

Hao blinked, once again showing that innocent, unbothered expression. "…What…?" he asked thoughtlessly.

"Oh forget it." He spat, and changed his course so that he was heading home.

--

Lyserg sat on the sofa, watching as the two parted for the zillionth time.

"Lyserg, can you not watch us?" asked Yoh, causing an alarmed Ren to spin round.

"What! How long have you been there for!" demanded the Tao.

"Ren, he never moved." Yoh sighed.

"Sorry, I just find it cute, that's all." Smiled Lyserg, and wondered off to his room.

Yoh grinned at them finally being alone, and began to kiss Ren again, when Ren pushed him away by his shoulders. "Holy shit!" he yelled, and stared at Yoh in pure horror.

"Ren? What is it?" questioned Yoh sadly. "Is it me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. It's nothing to do with you. I just remembered something _really_ important. Would you mind if I went to my room for a while?"

Yoh brushed a stray hair from Ren's face with the back of his hand, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Sure." He smiled, his eyes staring lovingly into the Tao's. "Go ahead." And he watched as he disappeared into the privacy of his room.

--

As Horo opened the door, he didn't even bother to look at Yoh, and walked straight to his room, slamming the door and locking it.

"…What's his problem…?" asked the younger Asakura, staring at Hao, who shrugged in reply.

"Period…?" he suggested, and placed the bottle of milk next to the many others in the fridge.

"Hao, what's with the milk? We have plenty as it is."

"Ever wonder why Ren _always_ gets _13_ small bottles of milk without fail? Well I just thought I'd make it _14_; and see if he notices anything…"

Yoh sighed and flopped onto the sofa, not noticing the elder Asakura going towards the Tao's room.

--

"Where the hell are you!" questioned Ren, throwing all of his clothing into a messy pile in the middle of his room. "I know you're here… I know you are…" he muttered, determine to find what he was looking for.

"Here I am honey-pie, come and get it."

Ren chose to ignore Hao's comment and continued to search through his clothing.

The long-haired boy allowed himself to grin as he bent over the crouching Tao. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing." He mumbled, focusing on the task at hand.

"Can I help?"

"No, go away." Hissed Ren in reply, getting annoyed by his presents.

"Ren, how do you feel?"

"I'll give Yoh a shot, he's a nice guy."

"I mean about Horo."

"Horo? That baka? What about him?"

Ren paused for a second and crawled towards the door, checking to see if the Ainu was listening, thankfully though, he wasn't.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel nothing, now shoo, I'm busy."

"Oh, are you looking for that picture of Horo with the love heart on it?"

Ren stopped his search and looked up, glaring daggers at the Asakura hovering over him. "How'd you know?"

"Just a wild guess. Good luck." He smiled, and left the room.

"Hao!" shouted Ren, and was thankful when he came back.

"It was in the clothes you wanted me to burn and fell out." Said the Asakura truthfully.

"Whatever, just give me it!" barked Ren.

"Why? Need it to snuggle up to at night?" he taunted daringly, watching as Ren gritted his teeth.

"No, now give!"

"Tell me why you have it!"

"No!"

"Do you love him!"

"NO! Look, if I tell you why I have it will you give me it back?"

"Of course."

"Very well then… I happen to have a photo of all of you, all with love hearts on them."

"Oh Ren, I never knew you cared. Why do they have hearts on them?"

"Because it represents my friendship towards you guys… I… I love you all… you're my frickin friends, of course I'm going to care about you!" The awkwardness of it all was beginning to make Ren's blood boil. He didn't like saying he 'loved' someone, he never has.

"Prove it!"

"You want me to prove it? Fine!" Ren snarled, and walked over to the middle of the room, lifting up the rug to reveal a loose floorboard. The Tao removed it and got out a small box. The box was black with a thin layer of dust, and as Ren opened it, he revealed to Hao his photo's of all of them, all with love hearts in the corner. "Horo's was the only one that would fit in my pocket, baka!"

Hao eyed the Tao, searching for a sign of dishonesty, yet sighed as he failed to do so. "…What made you _agree _to go out with Yoh in the first place?"

Ren sighed. "I've already told you. He's a nice guy. I'll see how it goes."

"But what made you say yes straight away? Most people need time to think about it, but you just went for it. Why?"

"Hao, why must you ask me these questions?"

"Because when you said you'd go out with Yoh, I could tell you didn't mean it. Yoh is _serious._ What's the point in saying _yes,_ going out with him for a while, then _dumping_ him? You may as well of turned him down flat. It'll hurt but he'll thank you for it one day."

"Why do you care what I do anyway?" inquired Ren, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen you so considerate of others before…"

"Because Yoh's my _brother,_ my _other half_, my _duplicate_, if you will; and I must protect him at all costs, both physically _and _emotionally."

"Look Hao, I know you're only looking out for him, but really, its fine. If I give it a shot and fall for him, then there's no reason for us to split up is there. And besides, if I don't fall for him, I'll give it a good _month_ before I make my decision, therefore, I'd have time to sort myself out and decide what I want and what I don't want."

Hao smiled. "That's great Ren, good to hear it."

With hearing exactly what he wanted to hear, the Asakura left, still smiling. _'…A month it is…'_

--

The green-haired shaman sighed blissfully as he enjoyed the silence, staring up at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. His eyes slowly closed as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber… or at least tried too.

"…_No… I'm fine… really?… that's nice… but still, I cant help but feel misplaced or something…"_

Lyserg put his ear against the wall. _'What the hell's Horo doing on the phone? Who's he talking too?'_

The shaman secretly left the security of his room and silently picked up the other phone that was on the wall next to the door.

Lyserg was confused. He knew it was Horo who was on the phone, but he had no idea who he was talking too.

"_I need to know what your thoughts are…" said an anonymous voice. The voice was deep; and male as far as the young douser could tell. "Are you coming to see me tonight? Or are you just going to sit around and avoid me like you've been doing for the past few months?"_

"_No, I'll come." Said Horo; and Lyserg heard him sigh into the phone._

"_Alone as usual I presume?"_

"_Yes, as usual."_

"…_You sound depressed."_

"_No, you don't say?"_

"_Horo, I am doing this for you, but if your going to get cocky then-"_

"_No, no. You're right… sorry… I'm just a little… stressed…"_

"_It's alright. So, I'll see you around midnight?"_

"_Sure. They're all usually asleep by then anyway, so it'll be easy to sneak out."_

"_Very well. Take it this is the same reason as before?" Lyserg didn't hear Horo reply, as the other end stayed silent. "Take that as a yes then, well, bye."_

Lyserg hung up after both ends went dead.

"Lyserg," said Yoh, staring at him from the sofa. "If you're going to do prank phone calls, at least do it from a payphone so they can't trace it…" he sighed, and went back to daydreaming.

"…Yoh…" began young douser, "has Horo ever… gone out… late at night…?"

Yoh's head popped up from the sofa as he stared at the young douser. "Not what I know of… why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just curious." He replied, then went to the Ainu's room and knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" he shouted, yet didn't open the door.

"It's me, Lyserg. I just wanted to talk to you about something…" the teen sniggered as he heard a rumble, followed by a thud, then another rumble, then finally the door opened.

"What?" asked the Ainu.

"I was just wondering whether you were feeling any better. When you came in you seemed to be in a rather bad mood. Want to talk about it?"

"No, not really." Muttered Horo, and closed the door, but before it could shut all the way, Lyserg stopped it with his foot.

"Horo, if you need to talk about things… well… I'm here for you…"

The ice shaman wondered why his friend sounded as if he was pleading for something… but what? Despite his thoughts of suspicion, Horo smiled. "I know, and thanks. You're a great friend." He smiled, and as Lyserg moved his foot away, closed the door.

Lyserg exhaled loudly, he'd expected his friend would have told him what was wrong, but obviously he'd expected too much. The green-haired shaman put on a grin, and walked back into the living-room, sitting next to Yoh, who once again snapped out of his fantasy, due to the person sitting next to him.

"Hey, Lyserg, what's up?" he asked, noticing his friends troubled face.

"…Nothing… I just… Do you think Horo is the type of guy who'd go to a male prostitute?"

Yoh stared at Lyserg in pure horror. "…Umm… don't really know what to say to that…"

Lyserg sighed. "Me neither…"

"Wait- Horo's going to a male prostitute!"

"No… actually… I'm not sure… but… oh, never mind. Forget I said anything, ok?" he asked as he got up to leave, looking back at Yoh. The Asakura nodded to confirm that his lips were sealed, and Lyserg went back to his room, still thinking about who Horo had been talking to on the phone.

"Hm, I wonder were my beloved Ren has gotten too…" he asked himself, and got up off the sofa, walking towards Ren's room. As he approached, muffled voices could be heard.

"…_and I also want you to know that I love Yoh more than anything else in the world…"_

Yoh smiled as he could hear Hao giving the big brother speech to Ren.

"…_and if you ever hurt him… I'll kill you."_

"_Hao, I'm not going to hurt him. Believe me, I actually don't mind being with the spasticated baka, but I don't want to rush into anything either…"_

"_I understand. It's just like you to run away from things."_

"_What? I'm not running away from anything you idiot!"_

"_Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever."_

"_I'm not, damn it!"_

'_Uh oh.'_ Thought Yoh. _'I'd better go in there before a fight starts…'_

But before the Asakura had a chance to enter, he heard Ren speak again.

"_Yoh cares about me, not many people do that. The last thing I want to do is hurt him for it. Sure, I'm not gay and I've never been with a guy before, hell I've never been with a girl either, but I don't care about that. Yoh is the first person to ever confess their love to me; and I thank him for it. I'll protect him and even try to love him. I know you're worried that he'll get hurt, but he won't because I won't allow it. Understand?"_

"…_Thank you Ren… that's exactly what I wanted to hear…"_

After Yoh was sure the conversation was over, he pushed the closed door open.

"Hey." Greeted Hao, and smiled at Yoh before abandoning the room, leaving his younger brother alone with the Tao.

Ren was sat with his back against the far wall of his room. The walls were a pale creamy colour, as the door was a dark brown. He had a large wardrobe to the left hand side of his room (Yoh's left), along with a bed with smooth satin sheets. Opposite his bed was a dressing table, which held such things as underwear and socks, and next to that was a large stereo with a small collection of CD's. The rest of his room was full of training equipment and weapons he'd either bought, or had been passed down to him by his family.

"…So…" said Yoh, letting a mischievous grin creep across his face as he saw the Tao look up at him. "You'll protect me huh?"

Ren instantly looked away. He wasn't so sure he liked the fact that Yoh was listening into his conversations with other people. "…How long were you there for? And don't you dare say 'long enough'."

Yoh's grin grew even wider as he sat beside the Tao, letting him wait patiently for his reply. "…Long enough."

"Yoh! I'm ser-"

Ren moaned quietly as he felt Yoh's lips pressing against his own; then held the Asakura as he tried to deepen the kiss.

--

Lyserg's eyes snapped open as he heard a sharp knock at his bedroom door.

"Hey, shit-head, I need to talk to you." Spoke a voice from the other side, and the door opened.

Lyserg groaned in annoyance. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"No, it's a custom in my country to walk into someone's room without knocking." Muttered Hao, and sat on the bed next to Lyserg.

The young dousers' room was as tacky as his hair. Everything was green. He had green wardrobe, green bed sheets, green carpet; everything was insanely _green!_

"Oh?" asked Lyserg, raising an eyebrow. "And what country would that be?"

"South Jinkananan Something-or-other."

"Take it that's a small Island in the- lets see- _nowhere._"

"Yes, now shush. I need to talk to you."

"About what? And why _me?_"

"Because Yoh and Ren are busy doing… _stuff_… and Horo will most likely ignore me because I piss him off so much."

"And you _don't_ piss me off?"

"No, because I can tell you _like_ it when I piss you off. Now shush, or do I have to throw a pencil at you?" he asked impatiently.

"No, I'll be quiet." He sighed, and listened to Hao's troubles.

"You see… I have _doubts_ about Ren…"

"Really? What sort of doubts?"

"The sort of doubts you get when you think someone doesn't realise just how lucky they are."

"…Oh… you mean you don't think Ren is thankful for having Yoh…"

"That's not what I said." Hao hissed.

Lyserg jumped slightly as Hao began to get touchy. "…Why the defence?" he questioned, still staring at Hao.

"Sorry, but anyway, I don't think Ren can go the distance. I mean- Yoh loves him for fuck sake! If Ren isn't serious, then what's the point in getting Yoh's hopes all high, only for them to be crushed later on in life?" he questioned.

Lyserg smiled and locked his arms round the elder Asakura, pulling him into a hug. "It's ok. I'm sure Yoh will be fine. Although… if it's _really_ worrying you… maybe you should consider talking to _Yoh_ about it, or even Ren." He suggested. "He can't blame you for being concerned about him."

Hao stayed silent for a moment, as if to think things over in his mind. "…You know what Lyserg… you're a good friend…" Lyserg felt his heart-beat increase. For the first time, Hao had referred to him as a friend, and for the first time, Hao had hugged him back.

**Unicorn13564: I wasn't going to stop here, but I guess I shouldn't make this chapter too long. I'm running low on things to do again… Damn it, I know what's going to happen, and I have some surprises in store for all of you, but I have _no_ idea what's going to happen until then… o.o Oh, and before I forget, Lucy, my sister, (Tkari), was the one who told me the title _'By Day I Cry, By Night I Howl'_ See Lucy, I _finally_ gave you credit! n.n …Even though I'm sure I've gave credit already… and I'm sure I've said that before… and I'm getting a major de ja vu… o.o'' (I know that's not how ya spell it but blah O.O'')**


	4. Mixed Signals

**Unicorn13564: This chapter should grab your interest… n.n**

Chapter 4: Mixed Signals

"Hao!" yelled Ren in frustration. "Hao, stop it now!"

It had been two hours since Yoh had gone to work in the place of another workmate. Yoh had received a phone call asking if he could come in and fill the place of an absent worker, and Yoh, being Yoh, decided to go.

Meanwhile, Horo, Ren and Lyserg were open targets to whatever Hao had in store for them. Thus the fact that Hao had snatched Horo's headband from his head, and was now running around the room with it, making Ren angry, and Lyserg just sit and watch.

"Hao, I mean it!" warned the Tao, wanting desperately for the other Asakura to return. "Hao!"

"He's like a little child, isn't he…" said Lyserg softly, still watching Horo trying to claim back what is rightfully his. "You can't be strong and firm, otherwise he gets upset, yet you have to be soft and calm, make him think that your decisions and rules benefit him…"

The Tao stared at the douser in wonder. "Why do you say that?" he questioned.

"Watch." He said, and rose out of his seat, walking towards the Asakura who was now on the opposite side of the room to the panting Ainu. "Hao, if you give me Horo's headband; I'll give you a match."

Surprisingly, the Asakura shook his head and looked Lyserg right in the eyes. "No, if I give you Horo's headband… you have to give me a kiss."

The young dousers' eyes widened, as did everyone else's. "W-What…?" he asked, waiting for himself to wake up and find himself in his bed. For each second that passed, his heart rate increased until he could feel it banging against his chest.

"Deal…?" asked Hao, and dangled the headband in the air beside him.

'…_What? What should I do? I mean- I want too, but… but…' _"Deal." He agreed, and gripped the headband, quickly pressing his lips to Hao's.

Lyserg had planned to pull away quickly, yet Hao took a handful of his green hair, making the kiss burn with passion as the douser had no way of escaping.

Horo and Ren couldn't tear their eyes away from the scene. There before them, were Hao and Lyserg, making out. And the freaky thing was; Hao was the one making all the moves!

Lyserg's eyes snapped open as he felt Hao's tongue trail along his bottom lip, requesting permission to inspect his mouth.

Hao felt two hands shove hard against his shoulders, causing Hao to step back, and the two to part. "Stop!" said Lyserg firmly, putting the sleeve of his jumper over his mouth, wiping it slightly.

"Stop what?" questioned the Asakura, and stroked the young teens' cheek with the back of his hand, only for it to be slapped away.

Green eyes glared up at the Asakura with pure hatred. "Stop _toying_ with me!" he hissed.

Hao just chuckled, amused by Lyserg's seriousness, and wrapped an arm round the green-haired boy's waist, pulling their bodies closer together. Hao stared down into his emerald eyes and grinned. "Who's toying?" he asked, and tenderly kissed his neck. Lyserg moved his head to one side, giving Hao more flash that he could kiss, blissfully enjoying the contact.

Both Horo and Ren were surprised by the scene. As far as they could remember, Hao's been nothing but a parent killer, and Lyserg's been nothing but a boring asshole! This sort of passion was practically _forbidden_ between the two!

Lyserg closed his eyes and sighed in contentment, happily letting little moans show Hao how much he was enjoying the attention.

The Asakura stopped and held the dousers' chin in his hand, stroking his cheek with his thumb. After a few seconds, the Asakura left Lyserg's side, disappearing into his room.

'…_Th…That was… so good…'_ he thought, yet fell to his knees. _'What was that?' _Lyserg asked himself, looking back at Hao's room. _'Did that mean anything? Was Hao hinting that he liked me, or was he just toying with me like I first thought?'_

Confusion filled up inside the Diethel. It was as if he was trying to get somewhere, yet he kept receiving mixed signals, designed to confuse and irritate him.

Lyserg had to know what that kiss meant, whether it meant anything at all… and the only person who knew that was Hao…

Ren stared at the Ainu sat next to Lyserg, for like Ren, the Ainu sensed the dousers' pain, and was now trying to comfort him.

The Tao gritted his teeth and stormed into the Asakura's room, surprisingly unnoticed by the two in the room.

Ren saw Hao ruffling through some boxes underneath his bed. The walls of the room were a pale red, with flames along the bottom, obviously Hao's own design. He had a wardrobe and dressing table in one corner, next to one-another, and a king-sized bed in the middle.

"Hao, why did you kiss Lyserg?" questioned the Tao.

Hao stopped shuffling when he removed a pair of white trainers; then turned to Ren. "Let's just say I'm taking a page out of your book." Said Hao; allowing a small smirk to form on his face.

"And just what the hell's _that_ supposed to mean?" asked the Tao, beginning to get annoyed. But despite his annoyed tone, the Asakura left his bedroom.

"Hey, Lyserg," said Hao, and walked up to the douser who was still on his knees. "Want to go for a walk?" he asked, and held out his hand.

'…_Is… Is he serious…! Wait; stop it Lyserg, he's only asking you to walk with him!'_

The young douser grabbed Hao's hand and rose to his feet, smiling cheerfully. "Yeah, let's go." He was walking towards the door when he realized the only thing he had on his feet were socks. "Uh, Hao, I need my- ha ha, thanks." he smiled, realizing Hao was holding the trainers he'd stolen from him.

--

The two walked hand in hand down the long pavement, dodging people as they walked past.

Hao glanced at Lyserg, he looked so troubled. The Asakura could tell he was thinking long and hard about something, and that that something was eating the douser away inside.

Lyserg looked up from the ground when he felt a small tug on his hand, and realized Hao had stopped walking. "…Hao… what is it?" he asked, walking back a bit, coming face-to-face with him. "What's wrong?"

Hao just stared down at Lyserg, a questioning look in his eyes. "I was about to ask you the same question." He replied, knowing Lyserg was struggling to keep eye contact.

"I…I want to know something…" he stuttered, trying to sound casual. "…I want to know why you kissed me…"

Hao smirked as he replied. "Because it was what you wanted… I've seen the way you look at me, the way you follow me around and act like you despise me…" Hao moved closer and whispered into the dousers' ear. "I can see right through your disguise."

Lyserg's eyes widened in surprise. This, he had not expected. "H…How?" he asked as his heart raced. "How could you possibly-"

"I know things about you Lyserg." he said, still using a whispery voice. "I know that look you've gave me countless times. You want something, yet you're so close to having it, that you can't. I know what you want more than anything else in the world…… _me._"

At that moment, Lyserg's heart gained maximum speed. "…So… so do I get what I want…?" he asked.

Hao chuckled in amusement. Was Lyserg really that thick? "What do you think?"

A smile formed on Lyserg's face. "So you'll really go out with me?" he asked, getting excited by the mere thought.

"_Duh._" Replied Hao cockily, and grabbed hold of Lyserg's hand again. "Now come on, we have a nice walk ahead of us." He said, and dragged a happy Lyserg down the street.

After five minutes of walking together, they came across a familiar face.

"Hey guys." Smiled Yoh as he approached, obviously on his way home.

"Hey." Replied both boys in union.

Lyserg saw Yoh's eyes travel down the two and stop were their hands met. "…Umm… why are you guys holding hands…?" he asked, slightly puzzled by the two's interaction with each other.

Hao stared down at his other half, and gave him his reply in a serious tone. "…Were dating…"

The younger Asakura took a few moments to respond, but then grinned. "Wicked!" he said enthusiastically. "Lyserg and Hao, who'd have thought it? So tell me, who asked who out?" he inquired, dying to know the answer.

"…Well… I guess it was Hao who made the first move…" said Lyserg, still shocked himself.

Yoh just laughed. "Well, I'm very happy for you both." He smiled. "But I guess I should get back. I miss Ren already, and hell knows what Horo's doing…"

"Can you say _'period'_?" Hao muttered.

Yoh sighed. "Horo has been a bit grouchy lately, hasn't he… Anyway, I'll see you guys back at home. Oh, do Horo and Ren know?"

"I take it they've figured it out by now…" shrugged Hao, and put an arm round Lyserg. "You want to go home or do you want to continue walking?"

Lyserg thought about it for a moment; then began to walk forward.

"Onward it is then. Bye Yoh!" yelled the elder Asakura, and waved backhanded to Yoh.

--

Yoh opened the door to his home and threw the keys on the round table in the room. "Guys? You here?" he called out, yet received no reply. Even though the door had been locked, and he'd gotten no response, he knew _someone_ was inside, for he could hear running water.

'_Ok, I know for a fact that someone is in the-'_ "Hold crap Horo!" yelled Yoh, clutching his heart as he stared at the Ainu.

Horo had unexpectedly exited his room, startling Yoh. He wore nothing but a blue towel around his bottom half, and was now rubbing his hair roughly with another towel. "Hm? Yoh, what's up?" he asked, oblivious to Yoh's fearful expression. Horo's body was half dry, half wet; causing parts of his body to shine in the sunlight that came through the windows.

"N-Noting…" muttered Yoh, and looked around. "Where's Ren anyway? …And why's the shower still on?"

"Ren's in there." Said Horo, and sat on the sofa.

Yoh raised an eyebrow as the Ainu reached for the remote. "Horo… you're half naked… and you're going to watch TV…?"

Horo just stared up at Yoh. "…Yeah…" he answered, failing to see the problem. Yoh just shrugged. "Whatever." He replied, and made his way to the bathroom, knowing Horo was wondering what he was up too.

Yoh silently entered the bathroom, closing the door just as silently as he'd opened it.

He saw a figure behind the curtain shower, and grinned. Despite the loud sound of the water hitting the bottom of the bath, he could hear the Tao humming a little tune.

Yoh gripped the curtain of the shower and yanked it back, yet was confused as the Tao attempted to cover himself, even though it was only Yoh.

"Ren, what's wrong?" questioned the Asakura, letting his eyes glide over the wet body.

"Get out!" hissed Ren, and jerked the curtain from Yoh's grasp, wrapping it around his body for more privacy.

"What?"

Ren glared at Yoh, disappointed in him. "I said _out!_ You have no right to be in here!"

"But I'm your-"

Ren gave Yoh no time to argue. "I said out and I mean out! _NOW MOVE!_"

The Tao sighed as Yoh left. _'Sorry Yoh…'_ he thought, knowing he'd hurt him. _'But I'm not ready for something like that yet… and you had no right sneaking in here…' _The Tao sighed again and grabbed his towel, stepping out of the shower.

Yoh tried to hide the sad and confused look on his face from the Ainu, who'd over-heard all the yelling, as he was now staring at the Asakura with questioning eyes.

As Yoh sat next to him on the sofa, Horo got up. "It's none of my business… but you've just broken one of Ren's golden rules…" he said, and went to his room to change.

'_What 'golden rule'?'_ Yoh pondered. _'What did I do wrong? Did I move to fast? Did I scare him? What?'_

At that moment, the door to the bathroom opened, and out came Tao Ren, and, like Horo, had a towel around his bottom half, yet a smaller one that went around the back of his neck, being supported by his shoulders.

Yoh sat still, refusing to take his eyes off the floor as the Tao approached. He found it even harder as he was no longer staring at the floor, but Ren's feet.

Ren stared down at the Asakura, and put his finger under his chin, lifting his head up so that their eyes met. "…Sorry…" he apologized, and gave Yoh a quick peck on the lips, before heading towards his room.

--

A few minutes after he was changed, Ren had summoned Yoh to his room.

"…I…I'm sorry I yelled…" said Ren as Yoh closed the door and sat on his bed next to him.

"Horo said I broke a golden rule… what was he talking about?"

Yoh eyed Ren as he chuckled. _'I thought that baka forgot about that…'_

"I have a golden rule on privacy. Under no circumstances, must anyone enter a room that someone else is in without knocking first. Not all rooms obviously, but rooms like the bathroom and bedrooms and other private places."

"…So how come Horo knew about it and I didn't…?"

Ren inched closer to Yoh and wrapped an arm around him, letting the young Asakura's body loll on his. "Aww; does Yoh feel left out?" he asked, and tucked a strand of Yoh's hair behind his ear. "The only reason Horo knows about it, is because a long time ago, he walked in on me whilst I was changing my clothes. I wouldn't let it drop for weeks."

Yoh hugged Ren, keeping hold of him. "…I'm really sorry… if I'd have known, I wouldn't have-"

"Yoh, you don't have to keep apologizing. If I get angry with you, it doesn't mean I'm going to split up with you…"

The young Asakura looked up at Ren. "…I love you… you do know that, right?"

Ren smiled and kissed his forehead, giving Yoh a little comfort. "Right."

--

Lyserg's back pressed hard against the cold tiled wall as Hao explored his mouth, letting out moans every few seconds. Lyserg took a handful of Hao's hair, forcing him to venture further into his mouth.

Hao pulled back, backing away slightly as he gasped for air, looking at Lyserg, who seemed to be unaffected by the lack of oxygen. "Fuckin hell Lyserg, where the hell'd you learn to hold your breath like that?" he asked, starting to regain the lost oxygen.

Lyserg just grinned and grabbed Hao's poncho, pulling him into a short kiss. "If you must know, I can hold my breath for a maximum of 4.3 minutes."

"Really? I can only hold mine for two…" said Hao dully. "…Hey, what you sniggering at?" he asked with a smirk, wondering what was so amusing.

"You. You sound so pathetic…" he chuckled, yet was cut off by Hao as their lips touched once more.

"So pathetic that you'd fall in love with me?" he questioned after breaking the kiss, yet was taken back by the look of hurt that was plastered on Lyserg's face. "…Lyserg…?" he asked, yet the expression didn't change. "Lyserg are you ok?"

"What if… I… you…"

Lyserg panicked. He was scared now, for a thought had just entered his mind. A thought he didn't want; a thought that terrified him.

"Hey, Lyserg, you're starting to freak me out…" said Hao, his voice full of concern as he gently shook the Diethel's shoulders.

Lyserg thought over his response, then took a deep breath, and spoke. "I think we should slow down…"

"What?" Hao asked. "But we haven't even done anything yet…"

"I know… but… what if… what if you… Hao, I need time to think about something…"

Hao backed away from the green-haired boy, giving him some room. "Sure… may I ask what you need to think about?"

"No." he replied simply, and left the men's toilets, leaving the Asakura to stare in wonder.

--

Lyserg walked into the flat to find Horo sprawled out across the sofa, his body half way on and half way off as he slept. That's everyone's sleeping place during the day… the sofa. Lyserg just smiled half-heartedly and went silently to his room, closing the door shut behind him.

Lyserg flopped onto his bed and stayed there for a moment or two, before scrambling underneath his covers, wrapping them tightly around his body as if to ensure security; and there he stayed, thinking.

'_What if Hao breaks up with me…? What if he suddenly changes his mind and doesn't like me anymore? Would we have a huge argument?'_ Lyserg could feel the tears building up as he tried to prevent them from falling. _'I'd rather just be friends, than risk our friendship and not be friends at all. I need to think about what I want, how much I want it, and what I am prepared to put in jeopardy to get it. I mean, I really really care about Hao, I love him to bits… but I need to know if he feels the same way… but if I say 'I love you' I might freak him out… oh, this is so confusing…'_

Lyserg let little sobs escape his mouth. "…Why is falling in love so _complicated!_" he shouted, unaware of the volume of his voice.

Despite his greatest efforts, he began to sob into his pillow.

--

Three hours had passed, and Lyserg was now sitting at the table in the kitchen. Horo was now awake and active, Yoh and Ren had emerged from Ren's room after Yoh had fallen asleep on the Tao, and Hao had came home after avoiding everyone for a maximum of two hours.

Ren entered the kitchen and reached into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of milk. Lyserg glanced at him as he opened the fridge again; then closed it, turning to Lyserg. "Why are there _fourteen_ bottles of milk?" he questioned, but Lyserg shrugged and the Tao left; leaving the douser to sit in silence.

The silence only lasted a short time, for Hao entered the kitchen.

"Hey Lyserg… you still thinking…"

Lyserg glared down at the table, yet his glare wasn't full of hatred, it was full of sorrow.

The douser looked up at Hao, not amused by the green pea that had landed in front of him.

Hao sighed. "Is a conversation too much to ask for…?" he asked, yet perked up as Horo entered the kitchen.

"Wow, the kitchen is popular today…" said Hao, and filled a jug full of water.

Horo smiled slightly. "Sure i-… what the _fuck_ was _that_ for!" demanded Horo, wondering why the Asakura had thrown cold water all over him. "You crazy fuckin nutter! That was cold!"

"…Just out of curiosity, what _was_ the point in that?" asked Lyserg.

"You'll see…" he grinned, and called Ren into the kitchen.

"Fuck off, I'm busy." Came a reply.

"Ren, please! It's important!"

"What is it?"

"Get your ass here and find out, baka!"

A few seconds later, Ren came into the kitchen drinking his milk. "What?" he asked; and Hao pointed to his left.

Ren turned round and began to choke on his milk, for to his left, was Horo, his shirt see-through, showing every detail of his upper body. Horo, of course, just stood there like a complete idiot, watching the Tao turn different shades of red as he choked.

"Aw, don't choke." Mocked Hao, and began to laugh.

"…I wont." Muttered Ren, and threw his open bottle of milk at Hao, getting him in the face.

The Asakura blinked a few times, before he lectured Ren about how milk and hair don't mix. "Do you have _any_ idea what milk does to your hair! It makes it sticky and hard and… _ew!_"

"Oh shut up Hao. I couldn't give two shits about your stupid hair."

Hao growled at Ren, and quickly refilled the jug, throwing it at Ren, who had instinctively moved out of the way; accidentally letting the water hit Yoh, who had been stood behind him for the past two minutes.

Ren looked Yoh up and down. Seeing the Asakura all cover in water like that was surprisingly turning him on.

The Tao turned to glare at Hao, yet noticed something he'd never thought he'd see. "…Hao, your cheeks are turning red…"

Everyone stared at Hao, including Lyserg. It was true. Hao's cheeks were going bright red.

"I… I have a fever, baka!" he yelled, yet let out a tiny gasp as Yoh's hand thrust against his forehead. Hao waited a few seconds; then Yoh removed his hand.

"Actually guys, he _does_ have a fever."

--

Yoh pushed Ren against the wall, pinning his hands above his head as he smothered him in kisses.

It was now half ten, and Hao had been ordered to go to bed by Lyserg. Lyserg had gone to bed himself, and all that remained were Yoh and Ren… and Horo, who was sat on the sofa, trying to ignore the passionate moans escaping both Yoh and Ren's mouths.

'_I can take this…'_ he thought, gripping whatever object he held in his hand tightly. _'I can take this, I really can. Look, it doesn't bother me… it doesn't bother me… it **doesn't** bother me…!'_

"Horo!" yelled Ren worriedly, and ran over to him.

The Ainu was puzzled at first, trying to figure out why Ren sounded so worried, but then felt the sticky substance trickling through his fingers.

Horo looked down at the object he'd been clutching, to find that it was never an object to begin with. Turns out, Horo had been so mad that he'd balled up his hand into a very tight fist, and ended up piercing his skin with his fingernails.

"Horo you baka…" muttered Ren, and grabbed Horo's wrist, leading him into the kitchen were the first aid was kept.

"…Sorry…" he mumbled as Ren removed a small box from the top of a cabinet.

"You can be such an idiot at times…" scolded Ren harshly, but quickly lightened up. "…But it doesn't look like you need emergency surgery or anything…" he said sarcastically, "Looks like it'll heal up on it's own."

Ren began to supply a bandaged to the Ainu's hand, making sure it was tight and secure; yet all the while, he could feel those blue eyes watching him. It was comforting at first, but it gradually began to make the Tao agitated.

"Horo, do stop staring at me like that…"

Despite Ren's request, the Ainu didn't look away. "…I can't help it…" he answered.

"What?" asked Ren, slightly flustered by Horo's last words. "Just what the hell's that supposed to mean?" he questioned.

"Nothing." He replied, his eyes turning cold all of a sudden. Horo yanked his hand away. "That'll do. Thanks." he said, before walking away, disappearing to his room.

"…What's his problem…?" asked Yoh, coming up to Ren and putting an arm around him.

"I have no idea…"

--

Lyserg's eyes snapped open as he heard the front door go. He quickly checked his watch. Twenty-to-twelve. Perfect.

The douser pulled back his covers and rose from his bed. He was fully clothed with black tracksuit bottoms and a black jumper, along with black trainers. Not his style of clothing, but it'll do.

'_Time to find out what's going on with you Horo… I know where you go during the day, but during the night… I'm about to find out…' _he thought, before quietly opening the door, and leaving his bedroom.

**Unicorn13564: Thank fuck for that! I've been doing this chapter for three days! Told you it was worth reading. It's a LysergxHao chapter! n.n Poor Horo… wonder what's up with him… o.o Anyway, review! (sighs) Me need more fwiendies v.v'' Hardly have any fanfiction peeps on msn T.T (glomps) Add me and I'll love you… o.o''**


	5. Suspicions

**Unicorn13564: Sorry! It's been forever, I know. If it makes you feel better, you can throw things at me in a review! XD Anyway, some point during this chapter, Hao is hypo, therefore _very_ OOC.**

Chapter 5: Suspicions

Lyserg lightly walked across the room, trying not to make a sound as he made his way through the darkness. He found it strange that when you try _not_ to make a sound, you do.

The floorboards creaked underneath his feet, causing the douser to stop; then continue walking a moment later. As he reached for the front door, a voice caused him to spin round in horror, only to come face-to-face with Tao Ren. "I said were do you think you're going?" he repeated, his golden eyes awaiting an explanation.

"Well, I, uh- hey, you're dressed too…" said Lyserg, noticing Ren was also fully clothed in black.

"Yes, well I'm going somewhere."

"…I think I know were you're going…" muttered Lyserg, almost certain that the Tao had also noticed the Ainu's absence.

"To find that Ainu baka? Yes. Take it you are as well."

Lyserg nodded and opened the front door. "Come on then." said Ren, walking quickly through the door. "We have to _follow_ him you know."

--

The two figures walked hurriedly down the cold, dark streets, carefully stalking the figure up ahead.

"It's amazing how we caught up to him so fast…" commented Lyserg, shivering slightly as the wind blew.

"Yes, well he seems to be in no hurry." Answered the Tao, and ducked away into the darkness as the Ainu turned round. "Be quiet," he whispered, "We can't afford for him to discover were here, otherwise this whole stalking-someone-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing would have all been for nothing."

Lyserg glanced down at the hand that had attached itself firmly onto his upper arm; then turned his attention back to Horo, who was now walking away. "…Ren… you seem to know a lot about sneaking around…" said Lyserg curiously.

"I'm a Tao. We are naturally aware of our surroundings and have fairly reliable reflexes, unlike most people."

"Thanks." muttered Lyserg, and made an 'ooff' sound as Ren practically shoved him out of their hiding place. "Come." He ordered, and quickly picked up the pace.

--

They had been walking for around half an hour, when Lyserg had pointed out that they were in a rough part of the city. The place were most murders, muggings, rapping's and other disastrous activities took place. It was stupid but some kids decided to christen this part of the city 'Dead End', and what was even stupider, was that the name seemed to stick. Dead End was just that; a dead end for anyone who dared trespass. It was certainly no place to be at night, so why was Horo down here?

Ren stared at the many darkened alleyways and grabbed hold of Lyserg's wrist. "Stay close." He warned, and let his eyes scan the perimeter.

They were walking down a long dirt trail, yet at either ends were abandoned houses. The houses alone seemed to scream 'death'. They were old and boarded up, yet it was obvious they were rotting from the inside out, for the stench they gave off was so revolting, Ren had to hold his breath.

Suddenly his yellow eyes darted towards a young boy, around the same age as him. He was perched on a wall, watching the two walk by. Ren glared up at him. His brown hair scraggy and full of dirt; and his cloths had been worn for much more than a week. He had scars along both bare arms which made his sickly pale skin even sicklier. The boys' dull blue eyes met with Ren's bright yellow ones, and Ren instantly walked faster, letting one thing enter his mind. Drug addict.

"Hey!" called a husky voice, yet Ren kept hold of Lyserg's wrist, urging him to continue walking. "Hey!" called the voice again, and the Tao listened as feet hit the ground. For some reason, he was panicking, his sense of danger rising with every step that boy took towards them.

"Yes?" asked Lyserg, pulling out of Ren's grip and standing still. Lyserg didn't like the idea of talking to this boy, but he didn't like the idea of ignoring him either. Maybe they could help him in some way. Maybe all he wanted was some food or water.

"I have a present for you…" he grinned, and reached into an old ragged bag he'd been holding.

Ren turned round and grabbed Lyserg's arm again. "Come on, we have to go-" The Tao jumped and immediately staggered back as something heavy landed at his feet. The wrenched stench that came off it was overwhelming, making his stomach tie itself in knots as he stared down at the dead corpse, clumps of fur matted together, eyes wide and clear as flies buzzed around its remainders.

"His name is Fluffy, I send him with love." He laughed, and stared down at the deceased cat.

Ren shot daggers at the boy. '_How could someone do that?'_ he thought bitterly, feeling the anger rising inside of him. "You sick bastard!" he yelled.

Lyserg glanced down at the cat and sighed. "Poor guy." He muttered. "Come on Ren, we'll be lucky if we haven't lost him by now." he said, no longer interested in helping such a person; and grabbed Ren's arm, taking him away from the boy and dead cat.

"Yes _Ren,_ you'll be lucky if you haven't lost him by now." he smirked, and picked up the cat by the tail. "Hey, Ren, you forgot your parting gift."

"You sick mother fucker!" he yelled, and tried to break free of Lyserg's surprisingly strong grip.

"Ren!" he yelled, "We have more important matters to attend too! Don't waste your energy!"

Inside, Ren knew the Diethel was correct. There were more important matters, like finding out were Horo was going. Like questioning him. Like making sure he doesn't get hurt whilst walking down here. And he would be wasting his energy. He'd need his energy to run to his aid if Horo was in trouble. Or to run from a gang of thugs. Yes, Lyserg was right in many ways. Ren knew that, on the inside.

The Tao grinned and relaxed his tense body, allowing Lyserg to drag him away before he changed his mind and wiped the smirk off that boys face.

--

"Was he _waiting_ for us?" questioned Lyserg, astonished that they had caught up to Horo yet again.

"No." Answered Ren. "He's walking very slowly. Notice the way his eyes are fixated on the ground as he walks."

Lyserg observed the Ainu, and suddenly clicked on as to what Ren was referring too. "So he's troubled."

The Tao nodded.

The two once again followed the Ainu, wondering were he was going. They'd been walking for over an hour now. Wherever Horo was supposed to be, he was late. Extremely late.

Ren felt thankful as they were led onto a street with cars running along a road, people passing by, shops all around them; they were finally back in some sort of civilisation were normal, non-violent _sane_ people were.

"Hey, Ren…" said Lyserg, tugging on his black jumper.

Ren's eyes were fixed on Horo's every move. Now that other people were about, it was easier to follow him without being detected, yet easier to loose him in the crowd. "What?" he asked.

"Look around you." Instructed Lyserg, yet when Ren didn't, he decided to tell him what was bothering him. "These people…" he said, glancing at groups of teenagers. They all had the same look. The same shrunken pupils, the same twitchy fingers, the same scar-covered arms. "They're all drug addicts."

This caught Ren's attention. There were a lot of drug addicts around this part of the city…

"Do you think… maybe… Horo-"

"Horo's not a druggy!" barked Ren instantly, trying hard not to raise his voice and attract attention.

"…It's a possibility…" said Lyserg sadly, noticing Ren's pace quicken.

"No. No it's not." He hissed. "I simply _refuse_ to believe Horo would do such a stupid thing. Even if he is a baka with the IQ of a pea!"

Lyserg bumped into Ren's back as the Tao stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, and saw that Ren's expression was puzzled. "Horo… Horo went in… there…" he answered, and pointed to an old, rundown building. Most windows were smashed, yet had a board nailed on from the inside to keep out the wind and rain. Parts of the walls were covered in moss and graffiti. The building was an apartment, yet both Ren and Lyserg knew that someone would be in there. Someone who Horo was going to see. But who? More importantly, why?

--

"Getting rather cold out, huh." Said Lyserg, blowing into his hands for warmth. "I don't see why we don't just go in and confront him about it."

"Because if we did he might not tell us the truth, plus we don't know what's in there. For all we know, there could be bouncers or something at every door."

The green-haired boy sighed once again. _'We've been out here for ages; and its not very pleasant hiding behind a wall. What the hell's he doing in there anyway…?'_ "Hey Ren…" said Lyserg as the sudden thought came to him. "Maybe he _is_ seeing a male prostitute."

This troublesome comment caused a pulse to be visible on his head, not because of the suggestion itself, but out of Lyserg's seriousness! "Lyserg, ever since you've heard that phone call, all you've been thinking about lately is Horo's _sexuality_. Do get a hobby, you're _highly_ disturbing-"

The Tao stopped talking, his yellow eyes studying the Ainu's every movement as he exited the building; examining his appearance. He appeared normal. No huge differences. His clothes were still clean, a few stains here and there, but that was usual for an Ainu with an apatite for anything edible. He was still the same Horo as before. "See," said Ren, "he didn't have sex with a male prostitute." Ren frowned inwardly; he felt so strange saying that. "Right," he said quickly, startling Lyserg who was still watching Horo as he walked away, "I'm going in."

"What? Why?" queried Lyserg as the Tao stepped out from behind the wall. "Aren't we going to follow Horo some more? Or ask him what he did? Or-"

"No. I presume he is going home, and I want to know why he went in there."

"Ok, shall I come with you?" asked the green-haired shaman, yet when Ren shook his head, he stayed put.

"I'll be out shortly. I don't plan on staying long."

The Diethyl watched the Tao went through a small alley to get round to the back, the same way Horo had gone, until Ren was totally out of sight.

--

Ren found a door that was wide open, and went in, but quickly wished he hadn't. The Tao's eyes began to water as he placed a hand over his mouth and coughed. The disgusting odour the damp walls gave off was so overwhelming, it was as if a whole family had died in here, and no one bothered to clear out the bodies. The walls were stripped of any paper they may have had, and were now damp and rotting. The floorboards were also rotting, making it dangerous if Ren had to go to the second floor. Someone was in here, someone Horo took time in the middle of the night to see, and Ren was determined to find out who.

The Tao looked at the rooms as he passed. The apartment appeared completely empty. _'If I were a crazy person who for some odd reason wanted to live here or invite people over during the night, where would I be…?'_ he thought to himself, then an idea struck him. _'I guess I'd be…' '_Ren found a staircase and followed it up until he reached the second floor. _'Hm, great minds think alike.'_ He thought, looking at the wallpaper and coloured carpet. _'I'd be on the second floor to make sure I got no uninvited guests.'_

Not only did the second floor have wallpaper and a carpet, but it had _air freshener! _The cent of lavender hung in the air, dispelling any traces of the foul death-like smell that had clung to him before coming up.

Ren felt his body tense up as someone from behind placed a firm grip on his right shoulder, whizzing him round.

"Do you have an appointment?" asked the man. The Tao's entire body quivered as nausea took over him; the man's breath was enough to put a horse to sleep. Looks like the lavender was no match for this guy. He had jet black hair which was beginning to fall out, his dull grey eyes looking deep into Ren's, making him feel more uneasy. If Ren was in trouble, he knew he couldn't take this guy on. He was too strongly built, and the grip on his shoulder alone was fierce.

"I-uh-yes-well no, but-um…" Ren fought hard not to make a fool of himself and sound suspicious, but failed miserably.

"It's ok." He said, and smiled. "I understand. You can't go on and some guy told you about this place, so you came to check it out. Don't worry about it, the first appointment if free." Ren was thankful when his shoulder was released. "Go along the corridor and turn right. Knock and wait for a reply."

Ren did as he was told, yet when no reply came, he slowly opened the door.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The Tao's heart leapt into his throat at the sound of someone screeching at the top of their lungs.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" they yelled, and Ren felt something hard hit his head. "OUT! OUT I SAY!" The voice was croaky and old, and by the sounds of it, male. "I SAID OUT! I HAVE VIAGRA, AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!"

The young shaman quickly closed the door and listened to the sound of things that were heavy being thrown against it. "YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME! YOU'RE A SPY ARNT YA! A SPY! COME TO TAKE ME AWAAAAAY!"

"Excuse me, can I help you?" asked a voice. This time it was someone a little saner. He had dark brown hair that was gelled back, and wore thick framed glasses; along with a black suit, much like the one before on the other man he had bumped into. The files he was carrying made him look like some sort of professional.

"Umm…" mumbled Ren, "What's wrong with that man in there…?" he asked, pointing to the door he'd just closed.

"Oh, that's Charles. He simply refuses to move out of here. He can be a pain at times, but then again, he frightens away uninvited guests like yourself." Ren was about to answer when the man sighed. "This way please." He said, and walked into the room next to Charles.

Ren did as he was told.

The room was like a small office in one way. It had filing cabinets at either side, plus a large desk in the middle; on it, the name 'Mr Forket' Behind the desk was a huge chair; and before it was a measly stool for other people to sit down on.

The Tao sat on the stool, and the man sat in his chair. Ren's mind was confused. What was this place? What did he sell? Did he even sell anything? If not, what the hell could he be doing? Could he be some sort of psychiatrist? Why were there huge padlocks and chains on the cabinets? What kind of a name was 'Forket'?

"So, this is your first time here, eh?" he questioned, Ren nodded. "Ok. State your reason."

"M-My reason…?" asked Ren.

"Yes." He replied. "Your reason has to be good enough for me to supply you with some heroin. I don't necessarily like seeing teenagers throwing their lives away for no apparent reason. After purchasing heroin, you then go into debt and have to pay £100, but in your own time. The deadline is three months after you have received the heroin."

**A/N: I have no idea how much it would cost… n.n'' Sorry if that's cheap or way to high or something. I also don't know how people go about getting the stuff, but this is some sort of… thing… were you go and get it and they give it to you and I have no idea what I'm doing so leave me be demons! T.T**

"S-So you sell heroin here…?"

"That is correct."

Ren put his hand on the table and leaned forward, allowing his hair to flop over his face as he lowered his head; staring down at the floor. "Are you ok?" questioned Mr Forket, yet Ren just ignored him. He felt his stomach twisting and turning inside of him, making him feel even more sickened. "I supply happiness to take away the pain." He continued. "Most customers are satisfied with it, but some don't handle it as well and have fits. But back to the original point, what is your reason for wanting to purchase such a drug?"

"I…" began Ren, still fighting back the urge to be sick. "…I don't want any."

"Oh?" Mr Forket raised an eyebrow as Ren's eyes met with his. He seemed slightly surprised.

"I want to know why someone named Horokeu would take heroin. What was his reason?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot discuss other customers' details with you; and if you're not here to purchase anything then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. I have others that need my help."

The man watched as Ren's fingernails dug into the desk, scratching it. "You don't understand…" muttered the Tao, fully aware of the desperation in his voice. "I _need_ to know why he would go to such lengths as to come _here._ Why he would sneak out in the middle of the night, why he wouldn't turn to his friends for help… why he wouldn't talk to me…" Mr Forket jumped as a fist collided with the desk. "_Tell_ me!" he yelled, getting frustrated. "_Please,_ just tell me!"

"Hector, would you kindly escort this young man out." He asked casually, stacking a few papers neatly and placing them next to him.

It was then that Ren noticed the man from before. He was stood outside the now open door. He'd probably been alarmed by all the yelling, and came to check it out.

Ren struggled against Hectors might, yet he overpowered him with little effort. "You know," he began as he dragged a squirming Ren down the stairs, "if you wanted to know why your friend has come here to badly, why not ask him? What's the worst he would do?"

Ren glared up at him. "Leave. Set the house on fire. Commit _suicide_. Be angry at me. _Hate_ me. _Despise_ my very existence. Think about it. 'Hey, Horo, are you on drugs, because Lyserg and I stalked you in the dead of night just to see if you were.'"

Hector sighed. "Well, I was only saying."

"Well don't." hissed Ren, and continued to try and break free from the grip that clutched his jacket as they neared the back door; the exit to this wretched place.

"This may be harsh, but it's the highlight to having a job as a bouncer." He grinned, and forcefully shoved Ren out the door, making him land on his hands and knees; skidding a few inches before stopping.

Ren stayed still in the dirt for a few seconds, then got up and brushed himself down; despite the burning sensation he received on his hands and knees.

"Don't even _think_ about trying to charge at me." Warned Hector; noticing the tense and pissed off expression on the Tao's face.

Ren growled and clutched his firsts, but took a deep breath and relaxed, before making his way back to the street.

--

The young Diethel groaned as he tapped his foot. _'Ren, were the hell are you…?'_ he thought glumly; and slumped his back against the wall; sliding down it until he was in a crouching position. _'How long does it take you to find out some information? You're starting to worry me, Tao. You'd better not be in any trouble.'_ Just then, the wheels in his head began to turn. _'What if he was ambushed?' _he asked himself, visualizing Ren being dived on by millions of people._ 'Or kidnapped? Maybe even shot- what about stabbed!'_

**A/N: Nice isn't he… -.-''**

A hand was quickly placed on his shoulder, causing him to snap out of his little daydream; accidentally letting a startled yelp escape his throat.

Ren raised an eyebrow as Lyserg chuckled nervously. "So, what's in there?" he questioned. "You get ambushed or something?"

"No." he answered. "Come on, we'd better get back before our absences' are discovered."

"Um, but Ren, what was in there? Is Horo a druggy or what?"

"Hurry up; we've been out here long enough already."

"But Ren-"

"I said move. And shut up, I do not wish to discus it." He said coldly, his glare adding to the harshness.

Lyserg decided it was best to not bother him for a while, but couldn't help but wonder. _'Was it really that bad in there? Why is Ren letting himself be effected so dramatically like this? It's not like him.'_

--

As soon as they silently entered the safety of their home, Ren didn't even bother to glance at Lyserg; and trotted off to his room.

The green-haired boy dumped the keys onto the table and groaned. "Would it kill you to tell me _anything?_" he questioned in annoyance, looking at the Tao's door as if it would tell him; but then groaned again and walked over to the sofa, flopping down onto it and spreading himself out. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, his eyelids growing heavier as the minutes passed, until eventually he managed to drift beyond the boarders of reality, and into a peaceful dream.

--

Lyserg's eyes slowly opened to a dark room, the darkness only allowing him to see the vague outline of objects. He stared at the watch on his wrist, yet the darkness refused to let him see.

His ears pricked as he heard something moving in the kitchen. _'Who is it? One of the guys? Or a burglar? Perhaps a stray cat got in and-'_

The Diethyl's heart jumped as glass was shattered; and little jagged breaths escaped the intruders' throat. '_No,' _he thought,_ 'it's defiantly a human.'_ Lyserg sat up on the sofa, raising just enough to be able to see the kitchen. There was a figure hovering over the sink, coughing, but they quickly fell to the floor, pressing their back against one of the lower cupboards. There was a pause in their movement, then the figure began to jolt, their body banging against the cupboard and collapsing onto the floor, yet still their body continued it's jolting.

Lyserg began to worry and cautiously raised himself higher to get a better look. Noticing the outline of spiky hair, his eyes widened. "H…H…" His mind knew who it was, yet he couldn't seem to move. He wanted to rush to the Ainu's side and calm him; stop him from causing harm to himself as he lost control of his body, yet the Diethel was in such shock that his own body was defiant, and disobeyed his orders to move. "…Ho…Horo!" he yelled, thankfully, this time, his body responded to his wishes as he lifted himself off the couch and ran to Horo's side, holding his tense figure down. "Horo, Horo you're having a seizure, ok? You're going to be fine, but I have to hold you still."

He tried to speak to his friend in a calm voice, yet knew he was failing miserably. Horo's body wasn't stopping, and he kept fitting, making it difficult for Lyserg to stabilize him. The grip the Diethel had on his shoulders to hold him in place wasn't enough; he needed re-enforcements.

"Hey," he called, hoping someone would hear him. "Hao, Yoh, Ren, I need-" Surprised by the hand that gripped his wrist tightly, Lyserg let out a startled gasp. "Horo…" he said as calmly as he could. "Horo, let go…"

Despite his request, Horo began to squeeze harder, causing a slight pain to form in his wrist. Although Horo was hurting him, Lyserg was happy when his body began to stabilize under the pressure of his hands on his shoulders, and half of his weight on his legs. Slowly but surly, he stopped moving, and Lyserg soon found that he was sat on an unconscious Ainu.

--

Hao could only stare in amusement as the Diethyl screwed up his face and turned in his sleep; grunting at his discomfort.

"Onii-chan, what are you doing at half six in the morning?" asked Yoh, yawning and stretching his arms. The Asakura watched as a devilish grin formed on his brothers' face. "Watching Lyserg whilst getting dirty thoughts…"

Hao's face then turned serious as he stared at his brother, wearing a slightly stunned expression.

"…What…?" asked Yoh, stopping his stretching and looking behind him, making sure no one was there, then staring back at his brother.

Hao smiled. "…Nothing… it's just… you haven't called me 'Onii-chan' in years…"

Yoh just grinned and walked past Hao into the kitchen. "Wake Lyserg up." He called through. "Oh, and wake Horo up too."

"Oh, oka-_AAY!"_

Hao could hear his heart beating erratically as Lyserg stared straight at him, his eyes wide; as if they had witnessed something horrific.

**A/N: No shit... -.-''**

"I wasn't touching, only looking!" said Hao quickly, thinking he'd be accused of doing something wrong.

"H… Horo… where- where is Horo!" he asked, quickly sitting up and scanning the room.

"Here." Came a voice, and Lyserg's head whizzed round as he spotted a certain Ainu; his eyes blood-shot and hair hanging over his face lifelessly as he entered the living-room in only his boxers.

The eldest of the Asakura's covered his face in disgust. "Please, put some clothes on; I'll have nightmares for a month!"

Surprisingly, Horo didn't react to that. He didn't react to hardly anything. Not even when Yoh put a bowl of cereal in front of him, or when Hao hit him round the head with a rolled-up newspaper, nor did it bother him when Hao started drumming on his head with spoons. Alls' the Ainu did was sit at the small kitchen table, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he stared into space.

"Horo, get dressed, _now._" came the harsh voice of the Tao as he entered the kitchen. "And Lyserg," he said, his eyes glancing over to the Diethel sat next to him. "Sort that wrist out, it looks bad. You may need a bandage or something."

Lyserg glanced down at the mark surrounding his right wrist, a mark that looked a lot like a hand mark. _'So… it wasn't all a dream…?'_

Lyserg could only wonder. Up till now he'd thought of his so called 'experience' last night as just a horrid dream. Horo was unconscious and he was on top of him. He had no memory of what happened next, so he'd presumed it was all just a dumb dream, and that that was were it had ended. When he woke up, the first thing he remembered was his dream about Horo, and so panicked… but was it all really a dream…? But why was there a mark on his hand? Surly it couldn't have been because he'd slept funny, it was even in the shape of a hand! …But does that confirm the fact that it wasn't a dream at all, or does it only ensure that he has a sleeping disorder and subconsciously squeezed his own wrist? If that's even possible…

**A/N: I had no idea were I was going with that…**

"Oh, that reminds me, Lyserg, did you go anywhere last night?"

The green-haired boy snapped out of his thoughts and stared up at Yoh who was hovering over him. "…Huh…?"

"You're fully clothed in black. Someone die last night?"

"Oh, um… well, y-you see… I… we… umm…" Lyserg let out a quick caught. "Yes… yes someone did die last night… his name was Fluffy… lovely cat he was, but sadly, he died."

"…You mean Tom's _still_ throwing that thing at people!" asked Hao.

"What?" said both Lyserg and Yoh in union.

"Tom, a mate of mine. Throws his dead cat at passers by." Yoh raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Oh, don't worry," he said quickly, realizing the look Yoh gave him. "He only throws him at people who head towards the… the…" Hao stared at Lyserg, suddenly becoming conscious of where he must have gone. "…So, someone _died?"_

--

Horo pulled on his trousers as he began to get dressed, just as Ren had ordered. _'Why was Lyserg dressed in black anyway?'_ He paused and looked at a chest of draws, then continued to dress himself. _'I don't know what's going on, but there is a reason for Lyserg sleeping on the couch in black clothes… It's actually a miracle he hasn't questioned me yet on last nights episode…'_

--

_Horo's eyes slowly opened, and his body was greeted by a heavy weight._

"_L…Lyserg…?" he questioned, "Lyserg, get off."_

_Despite his order, Lyserg didn't move, and the Ainu crawled out from under him. He sat there in silence for a moment; dazed as he recalled what had happened; then an idea struck him. _

_Horo carried Lyserg's sleeping body back to the couch and placed him down gently, then collected the broken bits of glass; and making sure there were no fragments left, went into his own room to sleep._

_You see, if Horo could make out that nothing had happened, Lyserg would think it was all just a horrid dream… or if he was really lucky, remember nothing at all._

--

The Ainu sighed. "Lyserg must have been really knackered to just fall asleep like that… I messed up big time last night; that was the worst seizure yet… I'm actually surprised my body could take that abuse…"

Horo was disturbed by a sharp knock at the door. "Horo, Horo I need to talk to you…"

'_Ok, maybe I wasn't so lucky…'_ he thought as he heard Lyserg's voice.

"Correction, we _both_ need to talk to you."

'_Ren…? Wonder what he wants to talk about…'_

The blue-haired boy who was near enough dressed, picked up a white piece of material and tied it around his head, keeping his hair out of the way; then walked over to the door and opened it.

"Yeah?" he asked, staring at both the Tao and the Diethel.

Ren barged past and entered his room, yet Lyserg simply looked at Horo, who held his arm out towards his room, showing him he was allowed to enter.

"Where were you last night?" questioned Ren as he watched Horo shut the door.

"I went for a walk. Why?"

Ren glared at him suspiciously. He'd expected him to say he was in bed, so he could point out he was lying without Horo having to ask how he knew, as Ren could easily have said he wanted to talk to him but he was gone. But now that he has admitted he'd left the house, things were going to get complicated.

"Where'd you go?" he asked, yet again Horo didn't give anything away.

"I went to the park; then wondered around the streets for a bit."

Horo was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Why was Ren asking so many questions? Did he know something?

"Horo…" said Lyserg, pausing to think over his words carefully. "…Horo, we know where you went last night…" Ren noticed the sudden change of expression on the Ainu's face as Lyserg continued. He looked both surprised, yet ashamed. "…Last night… that seizure you had… it was no dream, was it…"

The Tao's eyes widened. "What _seizure!"_ he yelled, but quickly lowered his voice. "What are you talking about?"

"…Well… Horo was in the kitchen last night… and… he had a seizure-"

Lyserg's eyes clamped shut as he listened to the punching sound, and heard Horo stumbling backwards. When he opened his eyes again, Horo and Ren were further apart. Ren was stood with his arm outstretched, his hand in a tight first; whilst Horo had his hand on his left cheek as a thin line of blood drizzled from the corner of his mouth.

"…Why?" asked the Tao. "Why would you do such a stupid thing!"

Ren's voice grew louder as he began to shout at Horo, telling him what an idiot he was and how irresponsible he'd been.

"You think I don't know that!" yelled Horo in reply, returning the cold glare Ren was giving him. "It was stupid, I know. But you don't know what its like! You don't know what goes on in my head! It's so _hard_ when you want something you can never have! It's _hard_ when you're so stressed out, that it makes you sad enough to turn to drugs!"

"How many times have you taken heroin?" asked Lyserg calmly, trying his best to stop the shouting.

"…This was my second… the first time was six months ago. I had a seizure during the night, but it wasn't that bad…"

"Oh great," spat Ren, "You were a druggy six _months_ ago, too."

Horo glared at Ren coldly. "There are things that go on in my life that you don't understand! Thing's you never will!" he yelled, and was about to leave when Ren grabbed his upper arm.

"Well why don't you make it easier and draw me a diagram." He hissed. "I'm not going to let this go Horo. Not for a long time."

"Because you care _so_ much about _me_…"

Ren's grip weakened slightly. He wasn't expecting that to sound so cold; yet the shock was quickly replaced by anger, and he gripped Horo's arm twice as hard. "Yes. I do care. More than you'll ever know; now stop being such an ass and don't do this to yourself!"

Horo somehow managed to escape the firm grip Ren had on his upper arm, and opened the door, storming off into the living-room, and out the front door; leaving Ren and Lyserg to stand there.

The Diethel stared at the Tao, and wondered how such meaningless words could crush such a great warrior known as Tao Ren. "…Are you-"

Lyserg didn't get a chance to finish, for the Tao was already making his way down the cold streets.

--

Hao Asakura sighed as he watched Lyserg lying on the couch. He seemed depressed or something. Not like his normal self at all…

Maybe this was a bad time for Lyserg, but he had to know what Lyserg had been up too. He'd thought about it many times, trying to find a particular reason in his head as to why Lyserg would do it, yet no matter how many times he looked at it, it all lead back to his parents. Maybe it was their death that drove him to it; maybe it was Hao's fault. Yet why now? Why would he take heroin _now?_ Hao knew Tom before he became a drug addict, and after, and he knew damn well that Tom would be sitting on that old fence down Dead End, scaring the crap out of people who trespassed; yet if they were a druggy, they would know all about Tom, for he would know all about them. _'I could simply ask Tom what Lyserg was doing down there…' _he thought to himself, still watching the Diethyl, _'Yet I'd rather hear it from him.'_

"Lyserg, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, hovering over the young teen.

"Sure." He replied dully.

"Privately?"

"Sure." He repeated, and walked into Hao's bedroom.

Hao closed the door behind and sat down beside Lyserg on the bed; taking a deep breath in an effort to calm his already stressed mind. He'd hoped that he wouldn't have to do this. He'd rather the house blew up and the world come to an end than sit and ask Lyserg whether he was on drugs or not. It was just so hard. How do you confront someone about something like _that?_ "Ok… how can I put this…" he began, feeling his stomach turning. "I… I know… I…" Hao gritted his teeth and balled up his hands in frustration. "I know that you're taking drugs!"

Lyserg stared at Hao blankly. "…_Excuse_ me…?" Lyserg couldn't believe this. Hao was accusing _him_ of taking drugs! "Hao, what are you talking about?"

"_Damn it_ Lyserg, don't _lie!_" he begged, "I'd rather you say 'it's none of your business what I do' or 'yeah, so I am. You want some?' than lie straight to my face!"

"But Hao I-" Lyserg was cut off by the Asakura telling him of how he knows Tom, and how Lyserg had mentioned Fluffy. "Hao, listen to me." The green-haired shaman seemed to somehow grab the rambling Asakura's attention long enough to explain. "Hao… I'm not on drugs… You see… Well, I suppose we would have had to tell you sooner or later, but Horo had been going out during the night, and when Ren and I went to check it out, we found he'd been using drugs. Then, somehow, we managed to sort it."

Hao stared at him. "…Seriously…? You mean Horo actually _knows_ what a drug _is?_" Despite that being an insult towards the Ainu, Lyserg nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Because I don't think Horo would have wanted the whole world to know."

"Oh… so I cant tell people?"

"_No!_"

Hao frowned, yet moved closer to the Diethel. "…So… you're not on drugs? And you're not thinking about it in any way?"

Lyserg sighed. "None what so ever." The young boy looked up into those chocolaty brown eyes, and suddenly became aware of how close they were.

Hao had asked himself countless times why he's even bothering with him. The Diethel was always complicated. He expected great things from Hao, things Hao knew he could never do. He expected him to be there 24/7, to look after him forever. It just wasn't the boys' style to go out and have fun, everything had to be perfect and organised, and now, now Lyserg wasn't sure if he wanted to go out with him anymore… yet despite the many flaws in their relationship, there was just something about Lyserg that always seemed to grab his attention. What it was, he had no idea. Just something that always interested him.

Hao sighed heavily and put on a serious face."…Do you want me, or am I just waiting around for something that's never going to happen?"

The Asakura watched the Diethel carefully. His words didn't mean to come out like _that_, but he wasn't that bothered when the eyes of the green-haired British didn't look so dull anymore.

"…Do you love me…?" he asked, causing Hao to say the first thing that entered his mind. "Well I could try…"

Lyserg allowed a grin to form on his face as he grabbed Hao by his poncho and pulled him into a kiss.

Lyserg moaned blissfully. Oh how he'd longed to feel Hao's lips touching his once more.

Hao broke the kiss and stared at Lyserg. "…So were back on…?"

"Duh." He grinned, and the two continued to make-out on the bed.

--

"Hao, _please!"_ said Yoh desperately, beginning to beg before he stated his request.

"…Please what?" he asked.

It had been ten minutes after Lyserg and Hao had stopped making-out, and told Yoh that they are back together. Yoh had congratulated them, yet now he was at Hao's feet, kneeling before the couch, begging Hao to do something.

"Please, could you fill in Horo's place and come to work with me?"

Hao looked down at his little brother. "You see, this is how it should have been a long time ago. Me; sat on my thrown, and you, begging for something."

"Hao, please?" he asked, his chocolate brown eyes staring up at him.

"Hmmmm…" he said, putting on a thinking look. "Nope." He smiled, and grabbed Lyserg, who was sat next to him, and buried his head into his chest.

Lyserg smiled and began to stoke Hao's hair affectionately, yet tried to ignore the puppy-eyes Yoh was giving him.

"Lyserg…?" he asked, trying to make his eyes as big as possible.

"Don't." he warned, yet despite his warning, Yoh stuck his bottom lip out. "…Hao, could you please go to work with Yoh?"

Hao stared up at Lyserg. "Hmmmm… nope!" he said again, his voice an unusual tone.

"Is it me…" said Lyserg. "Or is he acting like… a child?"

"I was going for 'total utter freak of nature' but 'child' is good too." Said Yoh, and laughed.

"Hao, have you been eating sugar again?" questioned Lyserg.

"Maaaaaaybe…"

"Yeah, it's sugar…" sighed Yoh. "…Lyserg, you couldn't come to work with me could you…?"

"Sorry Yoh. You made the rules, so you have to go by them as well. 'If Hao gets hypo, someone has to be with him until he calms down. He cannot be left alone when hypo.' Besides, last time we left him alone like this it was for five minutes; and the 'Frosted Shreddies' became 'Shreddies'."

Yoh sighed. "Looks like he's coming with me…"

"Nope!" laughed Hao.

"If you come, I'll give you a cookie." Bribed Yoh, and immediately the eldest Asakura's eyes widened. "You get one now, and one when we get back, ok?"

"Ok!" he yelled hyperactively, and snatched the cookie from Yoh's hand.

"I'll go ring up work and tell them Horo is sick."

Lyserg smiled at Hao as he munched on a cookie, taking small bites and chewing it for ages until it was nothing but mush, then swallowing.

"Uh, hi. Its me, Asakura Yoh. I was just ringing to inform you that Horo will not be coming into work today… he's got a sore throat and a pretty bad cough… uhuh… yes… what? You want to speak with Horo? …Sure."

Yoh gave Lyserg a pleading look, who sighed and walked over to Yoh, taking the phone off of him. "…He-he-hem! -Hello…? …Yeah… uhuh… I really don't think I can make it today. Hopefully I'll be well enough to come tomorrow, bu-he-he-hem- but I think I'm just gonna sleep most of the day… uhuh… ok, bye." With that, he placed the phone back on the hook. Coincidentally, Lyserg has always had a knack for impersonating Horo. He could somehow mimic the voices of everyday people, and use them over phones, as over phones, voices don't sound like they do ordinarily; that's why, over the phone, Lyserg was a genius.

"Wooow, that was so cool!" said Hao, and abandoned the remainders of his cookie to give Lyserg a hug.

Lyserg laughed. It was strange when Hao was like this, but in a good way. He was easier to please.

Hao stared at Yoh and grinned. "Yoh's such a sexy beast!" he laughed. "Know why? Because he's my twin! He has nice hair! Nice eyes! Nice ass! Yoh's so sexy!"

Yoh flashed Hao his trademark grin. "So, are you coming to work with the 'sexy Yoh'?"

"Yeah!" he yelled.

Even though Lyserg knew what Hao meant by Yoh being sexy, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, as Hao paid most of his attention on Yoh. For some reason, when he was like this, Hao seemed to like Yoh more than anyone else, and would nearly always do what Yoh told him too. No one knows why, not even Yoh, it might just be because they are brothers… but it was just so painful seeing Hao getting attached to someone else. Wanting to be near someone else. Wanting the attention of someone else…

Lyserg forced a smile as the two twins left; then flopped backwards onto the couch. Today was going to be a long day…

--

Yoh walked down the corridors of the second block of flats they'd visited that day. His arms were tired of carrying a heavy suitcase full of shampoos' and conditioners. Hao, on the other hand, had to carry a small cardboard box full of different varieties of soap.

The young Asakura glanced across at his older brother, a big smile on his face as he walked by his side like he didn't have a care in the world. _'That's weird…'_ thought Yoh, _'he should have returned back to his old self by now…'_ Yoh sighed, catching his brothers' attention.

Hao stared at Yoh, his smile quickly fading, and a look of concern filling his face as he stopped. "What is it, otouto?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to understand what was wrong.

Yoh stopped, yet for a moment, he didn't turn to face his brother; only stood there, his face hidden by his bangs. Hao was about to say something, when Yoh finally turned round, a big grin on his face. "Nothing, it's just, I think my arm is about to drop off." He laughed, but despite his cheesy grin, Hao couldn't help but hear a tiny voice nagging at him, telling him to look into Yoh's behaviour more; and not to let this slide.

"Um, Yoh…" he began as his brother knocked on one of the doors.

"Hm?" he asked, not even bothering to look at him.

Hao placed his box on the floor and stepped in front of Yoh, their chocolaty brown eyes locking for just a moment, before Hao wrapped his arms round his brother, pulling him into a tight hug. "Please, don't be sad." He said, "I don't like it when you're unhappy. If you ever need anyone to talk too, know that I'm here, ok?"

Yoh took a moment to react; then smiled, returning the hug. "Sorry," he apologized. "I guess I'm not myself today, huh?"

"No… no, you're not…" Hao looked behind him as the door opened; an old man in his late eighty's crouching over; the only support being his walking stick; chuckled at the two.

"Young love nowadays."

They quickly released one another from their hugs and separated, both feeling a flush of embarrassment as Yoh tried oh so hard to explain.

"No- well- um, you see- were brothers!"

The man stared at the stuttering Yoh; then realized the resemblance between the two. "Oh, incest eh?"

"No- it's not that at all! You see-" Yoh's cheeks began to flair up as Hao softly stroked his face; feeling more self-conscious of the man staring at them.

"Sshh, am I really that bad…?" he questioned, and planted a gentle kiss on his brothers' cheek.

Yoh shot daggers at Hao. "I see you're back to normal…" he muttered, and the Asakura grinned in reply.

"I'm terribly sorry but I'm kind of busy, is there something you guys wanted?"

Yoh turned his attention back to the man. He was wearing a thick green jumper and black trousers and chequered slippers. His knotted grey hair was falling out; making him look bald from a certain angle. His dull hazel eyes staring at the suitcase in Yoh's hand.

"Well, we were wondering whether you would be interested in buying any shampoo or soap." Yoh inquired politely.

"Heh, heh. Since you guys make me laugh, I'll have one bottle of shampoo, and one bar of soap."

Hao smiled, he was pleased that someone finally showed some interest, even if they were the reason someone was buying.

After visiting three more rooms, Hao was beginning to get annoyed. No one else had been even remotely interested.

"_I'm sorry," the woman had answered, "I don't want any."_

"_No thanks. I have enough shampoo and soap to last me a lifetime."_

"_Sod off ya little shits!" _

Yoh knocked on the last door they hadn't visited, sighing loudly. Even he was annoyed at their luck. They'd been at this all day, and only one person had actually purchased something- it was pathetic!

The door opened, and a little girl stared up at them. She looked around six, and had short black hair that fell just above her shoulders; and bright blue eyes. She wore a little pink dress that was white around the edge and pink bunny slippers, one ear of the left slipper slightly torn. "Mummy," she called, "It's Hao again!"

This took Yoh by surprise. _'Hao knows this family?'_

"Hey Riku." He smiled. "How have you been?" The young girl giggled as Hao placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair until it was nothing but a tangles mess.

"I'm fine. Who is this?" she questioned, looking up at Yoh.

"I'll tell you in a minute. Can we come in?"

Riku stepped aside and let the two enter the apartment. The walls were bright and colourful, decorated with doodles and messy paintings. To the right was the living-room which contained two chairs, a couch and a television which was placed on top of a table. Along to the left was the kitchen, and straight ahead were three doors, two obviously being bedrooms, and the third one a bathroom.

Yoh placed his suitcase on the floor as a woman entered from one of the doors. She had blond hair with a blue headband and green shimmering eyes. Her clothes were somewhat cheerful. She wore an orange top with a smiley face; short faded jeans and white trainers.

"I thought I told you to piss off." She said, yet despite her words, the tone she used was calm.

"Ha,ha, yeah, um, we're just selling-"

"Yeah, and we're not buying. Last year ago you taught Riku how to toilet paper someone's house; then you showed her how to egg someone without being caught. It's bad enough with those two, but to mug other kids for candy? You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Yeah, but doesn't Riku come back with a big smile on her face going 'I can't wait till next Halloween'?"

"…………So, who's the look-a-like?" she asked, observing both Hao and Yoh stood next to one another.

'_Why do you always change the subject when you can't think of a backup?'_ thought Hao, but decided not to take this conversation any further encase it broke out into an argument; and with Riku being here, that wouldn't be good for any of them.

"I am Asakura Yoh." He said politely, "Pleased to meet you… umm…"

"Saki."

Hao sniggered like he did every time he heard her name being spoken.

"…What's so funny about the name 'Saki'…?" asked Yoh curiously.

"Nothings wrong with the name, it's just… how she got it!"

By this point Hao had broke out into fits of laughter, and Saki sighed. "…So my mother was an alcoholic and got carried away naming her only child! Is that so damn wrong!" she hissed, punching the still laughing Hao in the arm.

Hao grinned yet his eyebrows furrowed as he started half laughing, half crying. "Anyway," continued Hao, quickly returning to his usual calm expression. "Yoh is my otouto."

"Hao, not that this little reunion isn't 'interesting', but I'm in a hurry. What do you want?"

"Well, we were wondering if you would be interested in buying some of our shampoo or soap." He replied with a cheesy grin.

Saki smiled. It was a sweet smile that made her look almost… human… "No."

Hao glared at her. She'd meant to smile like that. "…Riku," he said, squatting down before the child. "Would you like to buy some soap and shampoo?"

Riku smiled; yet had been taught well by her mother. "No."

"Saki, we have other places to go too, so hurry up and buy bitch." Hao gasped as ice cold water came flying his way; drenching his entire body. His hair stuck to his face; as did his cloths as he glared at Riku. "And that was for what, exactly?"

"No swearing at mummy." She said, before reciting what she had been taught. "Besides, it's ill-mannered and doesn't solve anything."

"…What kind of shit did you teach her…?" Hao asked, quickly grabbing hold of the bucket Riku held to stop her from wetting him again.

"It's not shit; its manners. Something you'll never have, now get out."

Hao tried to look hurt. "Oh Saki… is this about last night?" he asked, making his voice crack slightly.

"Hao, for the last time, go away."

"And what if I said no?"

Hao knew he was pushing it, but he also knew that Saki was busy. "If you go, I'll buy three bottles of your shitty shampoo, and three bars of your shitty soap."

"Five."

"Three."

"Five."

"Three."

"Five."

"_Three._"

"Five."

"Fine, _five,_ whatever!"

"Score!"

Saki sighed as she removed her wallet from her back pocket. "I'm _so_ gonna move." She muttered, as she paid the money and ordered the two Asakura's out. "Hey," she called as they were walking down the hall, "Go to number 13! They just moved there!"

"Thank you!" called Yoh, and the door shut.

As they walked down the corridors in silence, Yoh was slightly confused. _'What was that all about…?'_ he thought, glancing across at Hao. _'Since when did Hao know people with kids…? Scratch that, since when did Hao know people!'_

Without any indication, Hao just smiled at Yoh sadly. "She's my daughter…"

Yoh accidentally dropped the suitcase on the floor due to the sudden shock. "...Hao… Y-You're lying, right?" he asked, picking the suitcase back up and facing Hao. "You're lying… right!"

Hao stared at Yoh, their eyes locked in a serious gaze. "…Yes." Hao started to laugh, but uttered a little cry as Yoh hit him in the gut with his suitcase.

"That wasn't funny." He hissed, glaring at his elder brother with an irritated expression. "How do you know them anyway?"

Hao paused his chuckling for a moment. Since when was Yoh interested in who he knew? "…Well… you know I'm a big fan of Halloween… and I guess I met Riku when I was out scrounging the city for candy…"

Yoh sighed. "Why not just say trick-or-treating?"

"Because I like to say 'scrounging'. Anyway, I met Riku and Saki was with her, and we got talking, and then I went round with them. Then somehow I ended up making a promise to Riku that I'd come to her house every year and take her trick-… to scrounge the city for candy…"

"Oh yeah? So why does Saki not like you?"

"Because I am a 'bad' influence and taught Riku the best parts of Halloween. Still, Riku is my one and only minion, but for the past few months, Saki has been strict with the both of us, and has forbidden me to take her this year."

"Oh…" replied Yoh, yet couldn't help feeling sorry for his brother; sounds like he enjoyed hanging around with Riku. "Tell you what…" Yoh grinned as a thought came to him. "Halloween is, what, a month away?" Hao nodded to confirm his question. "Then why not go together?"

Hao looked at Yoh, slightly surprised he'd find the time to even consider going out on Halloween with him. Yoh was going to give up staying inside, and come out… for him…?

"Besides," he continued, not noticing Hao's facial expression. "We could get Horo, Ren and Lyserg to come too……… cause we'd have to blackmail Ren, but yeah!" he laughed.

Yoh uttered a startled cry as his body was jerked forward towards Hao's, and felt the elder Asakura's arms wrap around him in a tight hug. "…Thank you, Yoh…" he mumbled. "You don't know how much this means to me…"

Yoh's eyes softened as he returned the hug. Did it really mean this much to him? "…I guess we should fine room 13 now huh…" he said, before releasing his brother and backing away.

Hao smiled; his eyes somehow thanking Yoh. "Yeah." And he and Yoh counted down the doors; looking for the particular number.

'_What was all that about…? Surly he didn't get all happy just because I said I'd go trick-or-treating with him... I mean, I know Halloween is his kind of thing, but I didn't know he was so eager to go with someone… I don't even know what the big deal is, but whatever it is; it sure has made him happy…'_

The younger of the two knocked loudly on the door of room 13 and waited for a response… nothing… he knocked again… still nothing. "No one's home…" muttered Yoh, slightly annoyed at how little they'd managed to sell so far. Sometimes business was slow, but this was _ridiculous._

Hao noticed Yoh's displeased expression and groaned in annoyance; banged loudly on the door, making Yoh cringe as he yelled. "Hey, open up! We want to sell something! We know you're in there, we can hear you!"

Yoh stared blankly at his brother. "…But Hao… we can't hear anything…"

The elder Asakura couldn't help but sigh and question whether Yoh had any intelligence at all. Hao loved Yoh to bits, he was his brother after all, yet it was moments like these he couldn't help but wonder how Yoh even managed to pass a pop quiz. He really could be a thick shit at times.

"It's to let people think we know they are in there; then come out." He explained awkwardly, the explanation causing Yoh to mutter an 'Oh' in reply. "I'll give you 'Oh' you dim-witted idiot!"

Yoh raised an eyebrow at his brother; then grinned a little. "Stressful isn't it?" he questioned. Hao sighed loudly and nodded in agreement. "Very. How do you and Horo do it?"

"Magic." Grinned Yoh, yet both boys stared at the door before then as a shuffling sound was heard, followed by a clicking noise, and finally, the door opened.

The two twins stared at the small figure standing at the door. It was a young boy, around the age of ten. His shoulder-length brown hair covering most of his face, yet his big blue eyes just seemed to glare at them, despite the fact his hair was in the way.

Hao's eyes scanned the boy, his clothes baggy and torn in a few places. _'Are they poor…?'_ he thought, noticing that the child was bare-footed.

"What you lookin' at?" he snorted, his voice sounding croaky, as if had a sore through.

"_Hey, Shit-head look out!"_

Before Hao or Yoh could react to anything, the young boy stumbled forwards, banging into Hao; causing the two to fall backwards, Hao hitting the ground, and the boy falling on top of him.

Yoh stared at the leather ball that had struck the youngster, then back at the two on the floor. "…Umm… Hao…?" he asked, noticing the Asakura's fists begin to shake. "…Hao…?" he asked again, yet was slightly surprised when Hao quickly shoved the boy off of him and got up, glaring down at the child.

"What the fuck was _that_ all about!" he yelled, desperately trying to control his temper.

The child only returned the glare, narrowing his eyes in pure hatred. "Well if you'd use your brain you'd realize that I was hit in the back of the head with a ball, baka!" he spat, yet of course, this only pissed Hao off even more.

"_Kids! _Have no fuckin respect." He mumbled; then began to yell again. "And don't be so damn lippy you little shit! I've had a rough day, so don't even _attempt_ to piss me off!"

This caused a small, mischievous smirk to spread its way across the small boys' face as he whispered quietly. "…_Kisama_…"

"Hao! Touch him and I'll never forgive you!" warned Yoh, clutching Hao's arm as he grasped the boys' jumper, pulling him closer so that they were face-to-face.

"Myro, get in here, now!" came a sharp feminine voice from inside. "Boku, stop throwing things and clean up this mess! Sazi, help your brother! ….Myro! I said _now!_"

Myro sighed loudly. "Coming Mom!" he replied, and waited for Hao to release him.

"…Oh, you think I'm letting you go after the shit you just gave me…?" he asked, still glaring at him.

"Hao!" Yoh warned again, the grip on Hao's arm slowly tightening. Yoh was confused. Hao hadn't had a hard day at all. Sure, he'd gotten a bit grouchy once or twice, but he hadn't had that much of a bad day… maybe Hao was angry at someone, and was just letting out his anger on this kid, yet, why would he be angry in the first place…? Hao was so hard to figure out at times.

The elder Asakura glared dagger at him for a moment, then shoved him back onto the floor. "_Ch_, you're not even worth my time…" he grumbled.

"Same." He hissed in reply, before running into the apartment and slamming the door.

"…Stupid little shit…" he mumbled.

"_Kisama!_" yelled a voice from inside.

Hao clenched his fists again. "Oh yeah! Come out here and say that to my face!"

"…Hao…?" said Yoh, his voice in a slight whisper.

"_What?_"

The harshness in his brothers' voice caused Yoh's eyebrows to furrow. "…You're… You're not yourself today… a few minutes ago you were laughing and now you're…"

"Pissed off?" he finished, his harshness ceasing to die. Hao listened to his brothers' sigh. "…Sorry…" he muttered. "I'm not pissed off… just annoyed… I can't stand little kids giving me shit…"

Yoh's voice went soft as he chuckled half-heartedly. "Sounds like you don't like kids…"

"Oh no, I like kids…" reassured Hao, "…Just don't like kids who give me shit." The elder Asakura inhaled deeply; then exhaled in an attempt to calm himself, trying to rid himself of the negativity that surrounded him. Yoh perked up slightly as he saw a grin appear on his brothers' face. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

This time it was Yoh who knocked, making it sound not too aggressive yet not to timid; and the two awaited a response.

"Hello…?" called a voice through the door.

Hao could tell it wasn't Myro, it was much higher and was defiantly female.

"Hi, we're salesmen, and were wondering if you were interested in buying any of our fabulous products?" said Yoh, sounding like he was a professional salesman.

Hao looked at his brother with a questioning look. "_Fabulous…?_ Yoh, were selling soap and shampoo, not a friggin _flamethrower._"

"Well I have to get her to buy this _somehow_…" he mumbled in reply, keeping his voice low so that the woman didn't hear.

"One minute…" she called, and within seconds, the door was once again opened.

This time, however, standing before them wasn't Myro, it was what they could only presume to be his mother. She wore a long, silky black dress with black sandals to match. Her sleek black hair fell down to her waist, and her deep blue eyes stared at them almost curiously. "What is it you are selling?" she asked.

Yoh felt almost ashamed to say it. It was so embarrassing saying you were selling 'soaps and shampoo'.

"Oh, well, in that case, no."

Hao stared at her for a moment, totally silent; then, as if Yoh's day couldn't get any worse, Hao said something he really shouldn't have. "…_Really_…! You're not buying soap and shampoo…?" The woman nodded, and began closing the door, yet still Hao had to continue. "But- no offence- you stink!"

Yoh's eyebrow twitched as he forced a faulty smile. _''No offence', he says...'_

The woman before them had flame flickering in her eyes which made Yoh quiver, then delivered a sharp slap to Hao's face, before slamming the door.

Yoh listened to a chain rattle. She'd locked the door.

"…Serves you right you know…" said Yoh quietly, staring at Hao who had placed a hand over his cheek and was now rubbing it, trying to rid himself of the slight stinging sensation. "If you hadn't had said 'you stink' she wouldn't have slapped you…"

The younger of the two picked up the suitcase and began to walk down the hallway, quickly accompanied by Hao. "Well I did say 'no offence'…" he mumbled, "Geez, some people today are so _touchy._"

--

The two brothers entered their home, and as soon as Hao saw Lyserg, his eyes softened and a soft 'awwww' escaped his mouth. The Diethel had curled up in a ball in a corner of the room and had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

Yoh tilted his head and smiled warmly, watching his body rise slightly, then fall back down. "He looks so peaceful…"

"Yeah…" agreed Hao softly.

"Gonna go wake him up?" he asked, and Hao grinned evilly. "Hell yeah!"

Yoh smiled and shook his head. It was simply amazing how Lyserg could cope with such a person. It was also amazing as to how well Lyserg has taken to living under the same roof as him; for a while back, he would have attempted to kill him countless times by now, and the thought of him ever loving his parents' killer, or of Hao ever being loved by anyone at all seamed near impossible. Perhaps it was time that caused it; after all, time does have a way of changing things. If you're with something long enough, you get attached- so it's only natural the same can be said for people, right?

Lyserg steered in his sleep as Hao continuously pulled out small strands of green hair; watching closely as the Diethel scrunched up his face and groaned in complaint.

"Bless, he's so cute when he does that…" said Hao adoringly, and stroked the side of his face before gently placing a soft kiss upon his lips.

The Diethel's eyes fluttered open and a smile formed on his face as he stared up at Hao, who had returned the smile. "Afternoon, Sleeping Beauty. Tell me, what brings you to _this_ corner of the room?"

Lyserg chuckled and gave Hao a quick peck on the cheek. "I was tired and just curled up here… don't know why though…" Hao smiled as a hand cupped his cheek. "I'm glad you're back…"

Hao let out a long, loud sigh. "Yeah, me too. Today was _awful!_ I really don't know how Yoh and Horo can do that almost _every_ day! Talk about _abuse!_"

"Uhh… yeah… here's were I need to talk to you both…"

Yoh walked over to them with a glass of orange juice, obviously hearing that Lyserg had something to say; and crouched next to Hao, giving the Diethel his full attention.

"Well, you see… I received a phone call about half an hour from when you guys got back, and it wasn't good…"

"Oh?" asked Yoh, taking a sip of his juice and glancing at Hao to see if he was paying attention.

"Yoh… You… Well someone put a pretty bad complaint in about you two… and… You and Horo got fired…" he finished, and waited for some sort of reaction.

Yoh stayed perfectly still, staring at Lyserg with the glass in his mouth, when suddenly, he spat the orange juice back into the cup.

Hao felt horrible. He knew this was his fault, and he knew he shouldn't… but he did.

Lyserg glared at Hao as he burst into laughter. "Y-Y-Yoh's gone into sh-shock! PAHAHAHAHAHA- _ew!_"

The younger Asakura glared at his brother as he put the now empty glass on the floor. "It's _not_ funny, Hao." He scolded, staring at his now drenched brother. "How are Horo and I going to pay the bills? How are we going to pay for new things? What are we going to do all day! You've lost _Horo's_ job as well as _mine,_ Hao! What do I say! 'Sorry Horo, guess what, we don't have jobs anymore'!'"

"Hello! That's _orange!_"

"Guess what Hao, I couldn't care less!" he yelled in reply, and gave Hao an icy look, before standing up, and going to his room.

Hao's bangs fell over his face in shame as he sat there. He'd lost two of his best friend's their job. Yoh and Horo had been in that business for nearly three years, and in just one day, Hao had managed to screw everything up, and make those three long years count for nothing. _'I…I didn't mean to make you mad, Yoh… I didn't mean it…'_

--

Golden eyes glared at Hao as he explained about both Horo and Yoh's job, his face full of shamed. "You _what?"_

"I-I'm sorry-" he began, yet was cut off by Ren's eyes as they narrowed even further into slits. "I know damn well you're sorry!" he hissed, "But 'Sorry' isn't going to get Yoh a job is it!"

Hao stared hard at the floor; like a child being told off for stealing a sweat before dinner. "…No…" he mumbled quietly.

**A/N: Awwww! n.n (pats Hao) bless**

"So, where is he?" enquired the Tao, noticing he hadn't seen Yoh since he'd gotten home.

Hao pointed towards Yoh's bedroom, and sat on the couch beside Lyserg as he watched the Tao knock. "Yoh… Yoh its Ren, I need to talk to you about something…" despite not knowing whether the Asakura was upset or just plain annoyed, the tone he used was firm.

After seconds of waiting, the door opened slightly and Yoh's head poked out. "Yeah?" he asked, yet his voice wasn't moody like he'd expected, and he wore his usual plain expression.

"…What are you doing…?" he asked, trying to look into Yoh's bedroom.

The young Asakura opened the door further to show there was nothing to hide. "I'm looking through the Yellow Pages, have been doing ever since I heard me and Horo were fired, why?"

"Oh, no reason. Anyway-"

"So you're not mad at me?" interrupted Hao, his voice showing signs of hope.

Yoh sighed. "Well, I was… still am, but that doesn't mean I'm not your friend… You're my brother after all."

"Yes, well, now that that's out of the way, perhaps you'd like to know that I have a job- Yoh! Stop squeezing me so friggin tight!" Ren squirmed uncomfortably as Yoh cut of his air supply. He could have sworn he was squeezing him as hard as he possibly could. "Y-Yoh!" he yelled, his voice becoming weak.

"Sorry." he apologised, and released the Tao, who'd begun to caught and gasp for air. "Sorry Ren. I'm just so happy!" he beamed, grinning like there was no tomorrow.

"Yes, yes. Now, it's at 'Kirk's Fitness Centre'. I'm a member there, and I've been going there quite a lot recently. Apparently someone retired and they've been short-staffed for a while, as not many people know how to work every piece of apparatus. Kirk came up to me when I was training and offered me a job as a fitness instructor, so naturally I took it. It's brilliant. I can train, and earn money for doing so."

"The End." Muttered Hao, and applauded. "What a _fabulous_ story-"

Talking ceased to exist and heads turned and stared at him as he entered. His eyes swept over the room. _'Good'_ he thought, _'Everyone's here.'_

"…Were have you been? Haven't seen you all day." Yoh grinned.

"…Sorry… Went for a walk…" muttered Horo, and as he passed Ren and Lyserg, he asked them to follow.

Lyserg closed the door to Horo's bedroom quietly. "And…?" asked Ren. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

The Ainu breathed in deeply; then let out a long, relaxing sigh, before grabbing Ren, and pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry." Ren fought hard to hold back a shiver. Horo was practically breathing the words into his ear. "I'm so, so sorry. I was doing some thinking… and… I was being an ass. You guys were only tying to help me…" The Ainu released Ren, staring into his golden eyes. "and I tried to push you away…"

Ren searched the eyes of the Ainu before him; searching them for some sort of sign that he was being deceitful and the evidence that he would do this again… yet thankfully, found no such thing.

"And you, Lyserg…" Horo abandoned Ren and walked up to Lyserg, pulling him into a hug like he had done Ren. "You also tried to help me, and it wasn't right for me to treat you guys the way I did."

"So, you're not going to do that again?" questioned the Tao. Horo shook his head whilst releasing the Diethel. "Never." He replied.

"How can we believe you…?" asked Lyserg, finding it hard for one to come off of drugs after a walk around the block.

Horo thought about it for a moment; then raised his right hand. "You have my word as a friend."

All was silent for a moment, before Ren sighed in relief. "Very well then, but know that if you break your word, we will be enemies; and I'll _never_ forgive you."

--

Ren moaned as he felt Yoh's tongue exploring his mouth; his fingers gripping his purple hair, making the kiss more passionate. Yoh loved it when it was like this, when it was just the two of them alone in the bedroom together, but still, he couldn't help but feel as if Ren was putting off something.

Yoh abandoned Ren's lips and moved onto his neck, nipping and licking as a hand slithered up the Tao's top.

Ren shivered with delight as he felt the tips of Yoh's cold fingers running up and down his body, causing him to let out a soft moan. The cold fingertips continued to go down to his thigh, yet Ren's golden eyes snapped open as a hand slid in-between his legs, gently grasping somewhere he didn't want being touched.

"W-What are you doing…?" asked Ren, staring at Yoh, a horrified look placed on his face as Yoh attempted to unzip the jeans he was wearing. He felt even more afraid as Yoh placed a finger on his lips. "Isn't it obvious…?" he asked, before slipping a hand inside.

Ren stiffened as he felt Yoh move around. _'Why is Yoh doing this? Does he not know I'm not ready for something like this to happen yet? I-I don't want it! I don't-'_

"Stop!" he yelled, and re-moved the hand from out of his jeans. "…Please… don't do that…" he begged. "Just… don't… I-I don't… I'm not… I'm just not ready…"

Yoh stared at the golden eyes, quickly realising how full of fear they were. "Ren… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's ok…" he replied, his voice close to a whisper. "It's ok, you didn't know…"

"…Yoh… I need to think about stuff… would you…?"

Ren smiled thankfully as Yoh nodded in understanding and left the Tao's bedroom.

Ren sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. Somehow… somehow that didn't feel right at all. Truth be told, he'd never been so scared in his life. When Ren had pictured something like _that_ happening, he'd always imagined it would be with…

The Tao rolled onto his side and glanced at the photo of the gang on the table beside him, staring into the ocean blue eyes like he always did. "…Horo…"

--

Lyserg yawned as he sat in front of the T.V. Hao had found a film about dragons which had interested him, yet the only part that had interested him in the first place was that the dragon could breath fire and burn villages. It hadn't been that interesting so far, but Hao seemed to enjoy it.

The Diethel glanced across at Hao. He was sat on the other side of the couch, with Yoh in the middle- both had their eyes glued to the T.V.

"NO!"

Lyserg jumped as both Hao and Yoh shouted as the man drew his sword into the dragon.

"You scared the crap out of me!" yelled Horo, who had been ironing clothes at the time, and had burnt his finger on the hot metal.

"Well Bowen just rammed his sword into Draco and Draco gave his heart to that son-of-a-bitch and now both of them will die and it's so sad because he's the only thing that breaths fire in this film!" said Hao, hissing viciously as the 'son-of-a-bitch' appeared on the television screen.

Yoh hushed the two as he tried to listen to what they were saying, when instead, he heard a familiar tune. He turned his head round and out an arm on the back of the couch, staring at an oblivious Horo as he sang quietly to himself, and that's when it hit him… that day when he tried to sneak up on Ren in the shower, Ren had been humming the same tune. Yoh strained his ears, and caught some of the lyrics; and for some reason he smiled. The lyrics… they were so sweet.

'_The smile on your face _

_Lets me know that you need me  
There's a truth in your eyes  
Saying you'll never leave me  
The touch of your hand says _

_You'll catch me whenever I fall  
You say it best  
When you say nothing at all'_

**Unicorn13564: Forever and ten days later! You wouldn't believe how long this took me! . I had writers block on this chapter for well over a week! Anyway… yah, its way long… sorry. Guess I made up for lost time. I actually thought it was gonna be a short chapter… o.o'' I'm catching up to myself now. I've got half of the next chapter done, so updates may be slower, as before I had 5 already done. Bless, Horo is… well, _was_, a druggy… v.v And Yoh is movin to fast for Ren… bless… Oh, the film they were watching was 'Dragon Heart'. It's a pretty good film I guess. I heard that song Horo was singing on an advert about pets and I was like _'awwwwww!'_ n.n**


	6. Accidents Happen

**Unicorn13564: Bet you're surprised to see **_**this**_** fucker up and running XD**

Chapter 6: Accidents Happen

Lyserg uttered a small sound as he bumped into the railing on the foot of Hao's bed; then through his head back and moaned as Hao trailed kisses across his chest, nipping his skin here and there. He sighed as Hao took a handful of his hair, leading the kisses back up his body and claimed his mouth. Hao's tongue instantly entered without hesitation, and began to explore; running along his teeth and along the roof of his mouth, before gently massaging his tongue.

The Diethyl's eyes slowly opened as Hao pulled away and felt something tighten around his wrist, followed by a clicking noise. He looked down, inspecting the thing that was attached to him.

"Hao…?" he asked, hoping for an explanation as to why he was handcuffed to the bed post- yet as usual, Hao only grinned. "Hao, what are you- are you going to _rape_ me?" he questioned, eyeing the Asakura.

"No, but I can if you want me too…" Just then, the grin he wore changed to something much different from the one before- this time… it seemed… _evil_…

Lyserg whimpered as Hao harshly grabbed his crotch, rubbing ruthlessly through his trousers, making his partner breath slightly heavier as he squirmed in delight due to the contact. Hao grinned as Lyserg closed his eyes and moaned, clutching his arm. "Hao, what are you… are you doing?" he said, his voice becoming interrupted by little moans.

"What does it look like?" asked Hao, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Lyserg threw his head back again, arching his back as Hao gained both speed and pressure. "Having fun?" he asked as the Diethels' body began to buck when Hao rubbed it a certain way, and grinned when he heard his breath becoming jagged. Hao slipped his hand into the others trousers, yet didn't penetrate the boxers, still rubbing Lyserg's hardening member.

"H…Hao…" he said in a whisper, on the verge of releasing. The Asakura changed his hand position slightly, causing Lyserg to moan loudly, finally releasing.

Hao smiled and stood up, bending down to kiss Lyserg gently on the head. "Now, be a good little sex kitten till I get back."

Lyserg's eyes widened. "What?! You're _leaving_ me here… like _this_…?!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you came in your pants. You'll just have to put up with it for a few hours."

"_Hours?!_"

Hao opened the door slightly, looking back at Lyserg, finding he'd made his eyes look huge. "Hao, please don't leave me here all alone…"

The Asakura sighed and removed a key from his pocket. "Fine…" he grumbled, and placed it on the floor. "If you can reach it, you can get out. If not, then you'll have to either wait till I get back, or grow a few inches." He grinned, and left the bedroom, locking the door behind him to ensure no one got in.

"Ok, I'm off." Said Ren, and began pulling on his jacket.

Hao watched as Yoh came over to the Tao. Ren stopped as Yoh took over, pulling on the coat for him and adjusting the collar, before kissing him lightly. "Have fun on your first day or work." He smiled, and Ren nodded. "Bye."

As the door closed, Yoh turned and looked around the apartment. "Hey… where's Lyserg…? Isn't he usually up by now?"

"Oh, he went out a while ago." replied Hao slyly.

"Hey, where's Ren?" asked the Ainu, coming out of his room whilst pulling on a shoe.

"Just missed him."

Horo groaned. "I told that egotistic freak to wait!" The Ainu grabbed his jacket as Yoh opened the door, asking were he was going.

"Looking for a job! Ren was supposed to wait so we could walk together!" he yelled, and disappeared down the corridor.

Yoh sighed and closed the door again. "…So…" he said, seeing Hao standing there. "...Guess it's just us two…"

"If you say so…" Hao smirked, his thoughts trailing back to Lyserg and his little puddle of cum. "Hey, wonna go for a walk?"

The younger of the two shrugged. "Sure."

--

The two walked through the park, observing all the couples that were sat under trees eating picnics or making-out. The sun shone brightly in the sky, illuminating everything the light touched. The gentle breeze that brushed past his skin caused Hao to sigh. The park was one of his favourite places in the city. Despite all of the pollution and destruction that often happened in the city, the park was one of the fewer places were the grass was greener, trees were taller and the air was fresher. It was like his own little sanctuary. A place were he could go and think.

Hao stopped breathing in the fresh air when he realised the crime that was about to be committed. "Hey!" he yelled angrily, waving his arms around, trying desperately to get its attention. "Hey!"

A few feet away, its head turned his way, its dull brown eyes staring at him. The matted light brown fur blowing slightly, the tail hanging dead, and the back leg rose; about to release its deadly acid upon the tree.

"NO!" yelled Hao, running towards the old mongrel. "NO! STOP! SHOO!" He shooed the dog with his hands, his angry eyes glaring down at it. "_Never_ urinate on my tree!" he warned, glaring down as the dog stared up at him, tilting its head in wonder. "Go!" he said firmly, pointing in a direction away from the tree. "Go on, move!" The dog barked at him and growled lightly, showing him it was mad, before running off to find another tree.

Hao sighed in relief, putting both hands on the trunk of the tree to support him as he leaned forwards, hanging his head. "That… was so close…"

"Hao, what was all that about…?" questioned Yoh. "I mean, I could understand if it was Horo, but the only reason I can think of as to why you'd protect a tree, is because you want to _burn _it…"

Hao watched as two feet appeared on the ground next to him, and looked up at Yoh. "...You really don't remember, do you…" muttered Hao sadly, a disappointed look appearing on his face.

"Remember what?" questioned the younger Asakura, "It's just a tree…"

Hao shook his head, standing up properly. "Not just any tree Yoh, this is _our_ tree."

Yoh watched in confusion as Hao started circling the old trunk. The bark was bare in a few places, and the leaves were beginning to fall. So could possibly be so important about this particular tree?

"See, come here, Yoh." As his brother came to join him, he smiled a little. "Told you, like I said, this is _our_ tree."

--

"Ow! Hao, you dolt, that was me! Watch were you're going!"

"Really, Ren? That was you…?"

"Yes!"

"…Hm, interesting… I always thought you were taller…"

"Kisama!"

"Will you both be quiet! I'll turn on the torch in a minute!"

The voices seemed to echo through the midnight sky as five figures made their way through the park. Suddenly a beam of light tore a hole through the blanket of darkness, enabling them to see the path they were walking down. It was just after the tournament, and they had decided that the time had come for them to make a memory they can always come back too- something they can look at and say 'oh yeah, I remember that'. Then, they idea came to them. Why not inscribe all their names in a tree, along with little messages for the future. Sort of like a time capsule.

"What's your message going to be Lyserg?" asked Hao, glancing at the boy walking beside him. "'Get a hair cut'?"

"No, but I know what yours is going to be. 'Buy another pair of shoes from Lego Land'."

The two glared daggers at each other, one had been trying to annoy the other ever since they'd moved out to the city.

Yoh sighed. "You guys stop it, you're behaving like-"

"Found one!" yelled Horo, his bright torch running up and down the trunk of a huge, strong-looking tree.

"Great, now let's get this over with." Complained the Tao; shivering slightly as the wind send chills up his spine. "I want to go home."

Hao grinned in amusement. "What was that, does the wittuw Tao wish to go home?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll kill you." He threatened, his eyes narrowing. "And I only want to go home because I'm cold…"

"Oh stop being such a baby Ren. Horo has his usual, _stupid_ clothes on that can only _just_ fit him now, and _he's_ not complaining."

"Hao, go and kill yourself." Hissed Ren coldly, "You're just a waste of my time; it's not even worth talking to you."

"Guys, please, stop arguing." Sighed Yoh, annoyed with all the fuss the two were making.

The Ainu stood in front of the tree, observing it. "…So… what now…?" he asked, only to receive a quick smack on the head by Hao.

"What do _you_ think?" he replied, ignoring the glare he was receiving. "We do what we came here to do." The Asakura slipped his hand into his pocket and removed a small hunting knife, the blade slightly worn from its previous use of carving into things such as benches and walls. In seeing this, both Horo and Lyserg removed sharp objects from their pockets; as did Ren and Yoh.

"Sorry tree." Horo whispered sadly. It wasn't like him to inscribe things into living organisms, and he didn't exactly like the idea of doing so; yet everyone had convinced him otherwise. In years to come, they will revisit this place, revisit this tree, and revisit this memory. Their children could come here and add to the messages, their grandchildren can do the same- in the end, it would be like a family tree, _literally_, remembered as when five friends took it upon themselves to create a memory, soon to become a legend. Ok, maybe not a _legend_, but still, a nice, fun memory.

**A/N: I wonna do that now XD**

The night was long and cold. The five silhouettes grunting and groaning as they picked away at the bark.

Soon it will be all over for them; they will have withered away and died. But trees can last much longer. Yes. This tree will ensure that they will never be forgotten… well at least not for a while anyway. It was a shame, how nothing lasts forever.

The knives and other sharp objects dropped to the ground, and they all stood back to get a view of their work.

"Looks good." Hao grinned.

"Yup." Yoh agreed.

"So tired…" Horo yawned.

It wasn't much, but to them, it was a masterpiece. It was tiresome and rough on the hand, and sometimes the bark would cut the skin, but in the end, it was well worth it.

'_Asakura Hao- Remember to hide the bodies and claim insanity'_

'_Tao Ren- Kill Hao'_

'_Diethel Lyserg- Resurrect the Diethel name'_

'_Asakura Yoh- Don't give up and don't loose hope; there is always a way'_

'_Usui Horokeu- Tell him'_

'_You're all gonna die'_

'_You'll die in a minute if you don't shut up'_

'_Stupid little Tao, I can just reincarnate myself'_

'_Not if I cut you into tiny pieces'_

'_I can still reincarnate you twit, my body is not needed for me to be reborn'_

'_So I'll destroy your spirit then'_

'_Try it'_

'_We're supposed to leave messages, not start a conversation!'_

'_Gomen otouto' _

'_Don't drink alcohol'_

'_Look at Lyserg being a good little lesbian'_

'_Make sure a pond is in the back garden full of lilly-pads- and leave Lyserg alone Hao'_

'_Piss off you turd'_

'_Make sure Hao gets therapy'_

'_Yoh, that hurt- not'_

'_I'm serious'_

'_Why?'_

'_Because you're crazy'_

'_That's nothing new'_

'_Shut up Ren'_

'_Make me'_

'_Ok'_

--

Yoh smiled slightly as he put his hand on the worn tree, running his finger tips along the patch of bark where the blood-stain had once been; the smile turning into a grin. "Oh yeah..." he grinned, his voice almost a whisper as his mind travelled back in time to what had happened next. "...I remember that."

--

Ren's eyes widened with slight shock as he felt the blade slice swiftly through his skin, causing blood to dribble down his left cheek. "You... You cut me..." he stuttered, watching, his eyes still wide as the Asakura wiped the knife on the tree. "Yeah, I know." he replied. The Tao now had fire flickering in his eyes as he used his own knife to pin Hao's hand to the bark, piercing the skin between his finger and thumb. Yet another blood-stain on the tree.

"You know Tao," Hao began as he winced, removing the knife from both the tree and his hand, "You really should do something about that tempter of yours. Who's next? Yoh? Horo? Lyserg? You've already_ stabbed _me."

Ren glared at him. He always made everything seem much more than it was. "Believe me, if I was to stab you, it wouldn't be there."

Hao pointed the knife at Ren, but as he did so, Lyserg grabbed hold of his arm. "Hao, stop it!" he ordered, the obvious fear showing in his voice as he worried about his two friends.

A small, amused smirk formed on Hao's face. "Relax Lyserg," he said, throwing the knife in the air and catching the blade, the handle pointing towards the Tao. "I was only giving it back."

Ren snatched the blade back, deciding to ignore Horo's comment about how they were both psychos, and Yoh's chuckle in the background. "Can we go now?" he grumbled, suddenly becoming conscious of the icy air clinging to his body again.

Horo yawned, obviously tired. "Yeah," he agreed. "Can we go?"

"Hao? Lyserg? You guys done?" questioned Yoh, turning towards his brother and friend; who both nodded in reply. "Ok, we can go now."--

--

The young Asakura snapped out of his daydream, being brought back to the here and now by the sound of Hao screaming. "W-What?" he questioned, spinning around and scanning the area, his eyes searching frantically for his brother.

"Yoh!" he cried, "Get this mother fucker away before I burn the bastard!"

Yoh's eyes followed his brother as he ran, Yoh trying hard to contain his laughter.

"What the hell are you smirking at?! It's not funny! Get it away or I swear its duck meat!"

The hissing sawn tailed Hao, its wings spread wide and mouth open, the hissing sound becoming more and more vicious every time it got closer to its enemy.

Yoh sighed as Hao ran up to him, hiding behind him as the swan approached the two. "Hao just give the bread back. It's not like you're going to _use_ it for anything."

"But _why?_ I don't see the point in buying bread and giving it to _these_ things..." he grumbled, staring down at the swan, its eyes fixated on the bread in Hao's hands.

"Hao, you take the bread; then complain when it chases you."

"Your point being…?"

"My point being _don't_, as it will only make the sawn angry-" Yoh jumped as the sawn spread its wings, flapping and hissing, and snatched the bread out of his brothers' hand, before running off with it.

Hao blinked a few times, staring down at his hand, simply amazed that it was still intact with his arm. "Vicious little sod isn't it."

Yoh didn't respond to that, and walked over towards a bench that was shaded by one of the trees, and sat; closing his eyes, breathing in the cool clean air. He opened one eye as Hao sat to his right, watching as his brother copied him, closing his eyes and relaxing. Yoh now had both eyes open; one eyebrow raised, and was staring at Hao with a questioning look. His brother hadn't moved for at least a minute. He just sat there, eyes closed, like nothing else mattered. Was he really relaxing? Or was he trying to mock his younger half? "…Hao…?" whispered Yoh, poking him on his shoulder. Maybe he fell asleep. "Hao…?" Silence. "…Water rules…"

"_Yoh!_" moaned Hao, opening his eyes to glare at his twin. "You can't say _that!_ Water is the arch element of fire! You're crossing over to the dark side, Yoh!"

His little outburst caused the other to chuckle in slight amusement. "I'm sorry. I wanted to see if you were awake, that's all."

Hao eyed his brother curiously. "…So… you're back to the good side…? Fire?"

"Well, I wouldn't call fire _good_, but yes, and I always will be." He sniggered, leaning his head on Hao's shoulder. "Yay." Came the almost sarcastic reply, and Hao leant his head on Yoh's. "Hey," he began, curiosity filling his mind. "…Do you like Horo…?"

Yoh moved his head away and started at Hao, observing his innocent expression. "…Have you been totally _oblivious_ to the fact Ren and I are dating…?"

"No, I mean, do you like him as a friend?"

Yoh gave his brother a worried look. "…Yes…" he answered, awaiting more of an explanation.

"So it would take a lot to make you guys fall out…"

"Hao, why are you asking me this? What's Horo done to make us fall out? Have _I_ done something wrong…?"

"No, no. You've done nothing…"

"So what's _he_ done?"

"Nothing…" _'Yet'_

"Hao, what's going o-"

"Do you love Ren? I mean really really _really_ love him?"

"Y-Yes…"

"I mean like, would you _die_ for him any day? Like right now? Would you die _right now_ at this very moment if it meant Ren being able to live?"

"Why are you-"

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, I would."

"Are you certain?"

"HAO!"

"Yeah?"

"STOP IT!"

Hao looked at his brother, a shameful look on his face. He'd scared him, but he just wanted to know whether those feelings he felt towards the Tao were real or not.

"I… I'm sorry; I just don't want to see you get hurt, you're very important to me…"

Yoh was slightly surprised at how seriously worried Hao now looked, but what surprised him the most was that Hao was openly telling Yoh he cared for him. Well, he knew that already, but he didn't expect it to be something Hao would actually _say_ to him… "You're important to me too, Onii-chan." He smiled, but quickly noticed the glistening water in his eyes.

'_Onii-chan…'_

"Hao, are you alright…?"

'_Onii-chan…'_

"Hao…?"

'_Onii-chan!'_

"Onii-chan, you're crying!"

Hao blinked and looked up at Yoh. "…I was glaring at the floor again, wasn't I…" He laughed a little, trying to make Yoh laugh too, but he wasn't, and instead a look of concern was plastered across his face. The Asakura felt something roll down his cheek, bringing his hand up and touching the wet liquid.

"Damn wind…" he laughed, "Well, I'd better go, I have to go-… shopping…" Hao got up quickly and left the bench, leaving his brother behind also.

As the Asakura exited the park and walked down the street, he continuously rubbed at his eyes, trying to erase the tears before they managed to fully take form and fall. _'Why the hell am I crying…?'_ he thought to himself, _'It's not like I'm doing anything __wrong__...' _Standing outside the shop he wanted, he sighed, quickly replacing his saddened look with a smile. "Oh well, I'll have to get over it some day…" he said cheerfully, and walked into the shop to collect his purchased item.

--

"I'm ba-ack!" sang a voice throughout the house.

Lyserg shifted slightly and opened his eyes, awakening from his slumber. He tugged at his hands and found himself still handcuffed to the bedpost. _'How long was I asleep for…?'_ he questioned himself silently, watching as the bedroom door opened and Hao entered. "Kisama, get me out of these!" he ordered, only to have his order rebelled against.

"Lookie what I bought for you, Snuckums." He smiled, and showed Lyserg the big flat box. "It's just your size and everything." Hao opened the lid and pulled out a bright pink dress, the frilly bits on the bottom, the cuffs and around the collar making his eye twitch.

"…You're kidding, right…?"

Hao stared at him with a blank face, not seeing the obvious problem. "No…"

Lyserg sighed, yet let out a squeal of protest as Hao tugged at his trousers. "Now lets take everything off!" he yelled, giggling slightly as Lyserg kicked at him. "Hao! You're not serious! _Hao!_" The Asakura paused for a moment, "But… Snuckums, I thought you'd like it…"

''_Thought you'd like it' my ass…' _Lyserg sighed again, hanging his head. "No…" he replied rather glumly, "I love it…"

A glint of true happiness shone in his brown eyes, and he laughed hysterically whilst removing more of the Diethel's clothes. "Ok, so _everything_ comes off!"

"Why _everything?!"_ he questioned, trying to defend his boxers with his feet.

"Why _not_ everything…?"

"Because I'd be going commando in public?!"

Hao grinned. "Again, why _not_ everything…?"

--

Ren observed as the man before him pushed against the bar whilst lying on his back. "Don't bring it too low…" he instructed, "With you being new the added weight your arms might not be strong enough to push it back up." The man grunted in response and when Ren was satisfied his instructions had been followed, wondered around and began observing the people around him; trying to find newcomers or people who tended to be struggling. His attention was caught when he heard someone calling his name, turning round to see a certain Ainu approaching him, a look of excitement spread across his face. "Ren, guess what?"

"What?" he questioned, wondering what he was so happy about.

"I have a job!" he beamed.

"You mean somebody employed _you?_" he joked, and ignoring his comment, Horo continued.

"I can't believe I was able to get a job so soon--"

Just as they were about to go into deep conversation, it was interrupted as a grinning Asakura entered the fitness centre, coming up to Ren and wrapping his arms around him. "Hey." He smiled, and gently pressed his lips to Ren's. "You ready?"

Horo stood there, observing the two, their eyes locked, lips so close they were almost touching, both smiling like idiots… The Ainu suddenly turned his head away, heading for the door. "See you at the flat then…" he mumbled, not that they could hear him, they were probably to busy making-out or something…

Ren disappeared and returned a moment later with his coat, then began telling Yoh all about his day at work. "Ha ha, sounds like you had fun." Smiled Yoh, opening the exit door to the fitness centre. "Yes, I rather enjoyed myself--" Ren's head darted to his left, and a frightened yell escaped his voice as he shouted his name; the screeching tires trying desperately to miss the boy in front of them… "HORO!"

**Unicorn13564: Dun dun DUN! O.O Ok, so the ending was crap, poorly written and I admit rushed, but hey, its an update… despite there hasn't been one for 40-odd years… XD Yeah… sorry about that peeps… o.o''**


End file.
